Energon Is Thicker Than Blood
by Hexalys
Summary: !ON HOLD! There's more to Jackson Darby than meets the eyes. Captured along with Agent Fowler during the events of Darkness Rising, Jack meets Starscream, causing him to have visions as he slowly unravels a forgotten past, leaving him with many unanswered questions. How is he seeing these impossible things? Who's Thundercracker? And what does any of it have to do with Starscream?
1. A Gift From Primus

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Transformers Prime, Hasbro does. I wish Marvell still had the rights though or at least partial rights.

So I got this idea into my head somehow and just had to write it down. My story takes a different turn in the beginning, but I'll mostly stick to the episodes we've seen so far. There will be some tweaks here and there, but I don't want to diverge too much from the originals.

This is my second story written around Jack and that's because he's awesome! The main relationship in this story is going to be between Jack and Starscream. Also, this going to be a Jack x Arcee pairing as well.

In my other Prime story, After the Fall, I kept Jack as close to his personality as possible. In this story, Jack will drastically change, but keep the fundamentals that make up who he is.

Now please enjoy the chapter!

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 1: A Gift from Primus

Thundercracker blasted the Autobot that stood in his way as he moved with his brothers to the core of Cybertron. He looked to his younger brother Starscream and couldn't help, but worry for the Seeker's wellbeing. Starscream had recently been chosen to become the second in command of the Decepticons by Megatron and not for the reasons everyone thought.

Starscream was a good fighter, if a little cowardly at times, but his true strength laid in his mind. Thundercracker was proud that his younger brother was more than just muscle; Starscream was by far one of the smartest Decepticon in the ranks. His brother was also extremely arrogant and that was his major flaw. While his brother was a valuable warrior, it wasn't because of his own merits that he'd been picked as Megatron's second in command.

Megatron had picked Starscream so that he could keep Thundercracker in check. With his little brother always with Megatron, Thundercracker didn't dare rise up against the Decepticon overlord. Thundercracker had only joined the Decepticons because of his brothers. Why Skywarp had joined, he had no idea, but Starscream had joined because he honestly believed in the Decepticon cause.

Out of the Seeker brothers, only Thundercracker had been able to see through Megatron's façade. He had seen their leader at his worst and he knew that the once gladiator would be the ruin of Cybertron. Yet, his brothers did not listen to his words.

They had become corrupted by Megatron's evil and there was nothing Thundercracker could do about it. His only hope now was for Megatron to slip up and show his true colors. Once he did, Thundercracker would take his brothers to safety, be that the Autobot base or hiding in the huge expanse of space.

He could do nothing about the situation now though. He was only able to take care of his brothers from a distance as he continued to bow at Megatron's feet. He turned towards his youngest brother, Skywarp, and saw him weaving in and out of the enemies' shots like it was a game. He dodged another shot and pretended to yawn.

"You Autobots done yet? Cause we sort of need to keep going or else Screamer is gonna get it!" Skywarp said as he dodged another shot with ease.

"Don't call me THAT!" Thundercracker heard Starscream yell from somewhere nearby.

They quickly dispatched the Autobots and made their way further into Cybertron. While all of them had their flaws, Skywarp and Starscream's were more obvious. Skywarp was too carefree and treated everything like a joke. Starscream was too proud and always underestimated his opponents. His own flaw was that he would do anything to protect his brothers and it was a weakness that Megatron exploited to no end.

"You need to take this more seriously Skywarp. Starscream and I won't always be here to watch your back." Thundercracker said as they plowed through another rank of Autobots.

"What do you mean T.C.? We're a Trine; we're always going to be together." Skywarp said easily as he shot down the enemy.

Thundercracker simply shook his head at his youngest brothers' naivety. He had a bad feeling about today and he didn't doubt that something awful was going to happen. He would just have to keep a close eye on his brothers and pray to Primus that they would all survive to see tomorrow.

The three Seekers finally arrived at the core of Cybertron and Thundercracker took a moment to show respect to their God who essentially was the core of Cybertron. Primus was by far the most stunning thing he'd ever seen. Primus was, or rather was contained in, a giant black metallic sphere that shimmered with lights coming from his Spark that shown like thousands of stars. It made Thundercracker's Spark break to desecrate this sacred place simply to gain more strength to destroy the Autobots.

"Come on, Lord Megatron is over there and he needs aerial support." Starscream said as he transformed with Skywarp and flew to Megatron's position.

Hesitantly, Thundercracker followed his brothers and sent out a silent apology to Primus for the lives he was about to take while in front of the God. He opened fire with his brothers and slowly, but surely, pushed the Autobot lines back. They regrouped to Megatron's position to receive more orders.

"Starscream, lead the Aerial Vehicons and Insecticons to continue to keep the pressure on the Autobots. Skywarp, I want you to help the others take the Energon we've collected back to base. Thundercracker, you're with me." Thundercracker's brothers nodded as soon as the orders were given and took off to complete their missions, leaving him alone with Megatron.

That ominous feeling from earlier had now returned with a vengeance and Thundercracker knew that it was not warning him about his brothers, but about himself. There was something suspicious about this whole situation. Megatron had always made sure that he was never alone with him. Usually, Soundwave or his brothers were nearby and it was those situations that stopped Thundercracker from attacking Megatron.

It was a well-known fact that he was one of the best fighters in the Decepticon ranks. If fact, the only two bots whom Thundercracker did not know he could defeat was Soundwave and Megatron. Thundercracker had never seen Soundwave fight, but he had a sneaky suspicion that the silent Con was far more dangerous then he appeared.

Thundercracker had never truly fought Megatron though; he'd only ever seen the ex-gladiator fight others. One reason for why he'd never challenged the Warlord was because Thundercracker didn't dare risk his Trines' safety and the other reason was simply because he could never work up the nerve to challenge the Decepticon leader. His survival to protect his brothers ran deeper than his hatred for Megatron and he had little doubt that Decepticon overlord knew this.

He did make his hatred known to the Megatron though, not in public, but when he was only in the company of Soundwave and his Lord. Megatron seemed to be amused by it more often than not, but there had been a few occasions where Megatron looked at him with worry. He had good reasons to be worried too.

Thundercracker knew more about the Decepticons than anyone beside Megatron and maybe Soundwave. If he were to betray the Decepticon cause, not only would he be taking his brothers with him, but he would be able to give information to the Autobots that would lead to the Decepticons' downfall.

"I want to take a closer look at Primus, Thundercracker. There may be a way for me to harness his energy to defeat Optimus Prime and his Autobots." Megatron said and they both flew closer to Primus. Once they landed, Megatron ordered Thundercracker to scan for an entryway into Primus.

"I don't think that we should tamper with the power of a God, Megatron. We shouldn't even be here. I understand that Cybertron's Energon supplies are running low, but we should search other planets for Energon instead of raiding our own planets' core!" Thundercracker said as he stared up at Primus.

He could feel the God radiate power as well as anger and despair for the events that were taking place around it. They had done this, this unforgivable defilement. Primus, have mercy on him and his foolish brothers.

"Your concerns are meaningless Thundercracker. I can easily control whatever power you believe Primus to possess and I'll use that power to destroy my enemies. I have to get control over Primus before the Autobots do and if I can't control Primus, I'll just have to destroy him." Megatron said as he pointed his gun at Thundercracker's back. Thundercracker turned around, dodged Megatron's shot and brought up his own weapon.

He shot off a rocket and charged into the debris and smoke his missile had made. "Only a fool like you would think that you could control the power of a God. If you destroy Primus, you destroy Cybertron!"

"Then so be it! My victory would be assured!" Megatron shouted as he dodged a slash from Thundercracker. He growled out loud as he felt pain in his left side and Megatron knew that he hadn't dodged the attack completely.

"I won't let your madness carry on anymore Megatron! You'll destroy Cybertron if you keep up this pointless war." Thundercracker yelled as he pushed Megatron back with sheer force.

Their battle waged for several minutes before Thundercracker pierced through the armor in Megatron's right shoulder and stood over his fallen foe. Megatron stared up at him in disbelief and fear as Thundercracker raised his left servo, prepared to stab it through Megatron's Spark. A sudden blast hit nearby and Thundercracker brought up his hands to cover his face out of reflex.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his chest.

Thundercracker stared down at the sword that was protruding through his chassis with disbelief. He looked back at Megatron and saw the Decepticon smiling at him. Slowly, Megatron pulled out his blade in hopes of causing Thundercracker more pain.

Thundercracker tried to inhale, but coughed up Energon instead. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt, he just felt numb. He stumbled back until he hit something hard and used it to support himself.

"I can't have you interfere with my plans Thundercracker. I will not be denied my victory because of your cowardliness." Megatron growled as he grabbed hold of Thundercracker's chin.

"Get your disgusting servos off me you Pit-spawned slagger!" Thundercracker shouted as he spat into his murderers face. Megatron took a step back, but didn't wipe off the Energon that marred his face and helmet. He smiled ruefully at the dying Seeker before he spoke.

"I'll be sure to take good care of your brothers Thundercracker. No doubt they'll be distraught to know that you died by taking a shot to the Spark chamber for me. With your demise, I will gain their undying loyalty."

"You may be able to fool them for a little while, but your lie won't last forever. Starscream will see through your deception." Thundercracker said as he coughed up more Energon and his sight began to fade.

"Hmm, then I'll just have to make him more submissive so that he fears to rise against me. A few good beatings and regular sessions of demoralization should do the job. Even if he does revolt against me, I will simply snuff out his Spark, just like I have yours. Farewell Thundercracker." Megatron said before he transformed and flew off over the remaining ranks of the two factions, ordering a retreat.

Thundercracker could feel his Spark starting to give and his systems unwillingly beginning to shut down as stasis lock set in as a useless attempt to save energy. He was losing too much Energon, had already lost too much Energon. As his processor began to fail, he felt the metal that had been supporting him open up, sucking him into a place that was warm and welcoming.

He felt his Spark disappear and he knew he was dead.

'_I can't die now! I need to protect my brothers! Please Primus, give me another chance!_' He thought to the endless darkness that seemed to be closing in around him.

"**What would you do?**" Thundercracker heard someone say and the voice seemed to echo in his head.

He opened his optics and gazed in shock at the white expanse that now surrounded him. Thundercracker turned his head to look for whoever had spoken to him, but found that he was alone in the barren plain.

"Hello? Who's there? Where am I?" He shouted back, but his voice didn't echo.

"**You are here with me youngling and I am the being known as Primus. I ask again, what would you do if I gave you another chance? Why do you deserve a second life when others, who were far purer than you, did not?**" Primus said and Thundercracker thought about his answer for what felt like hours before he answered.

"I…I am not a good being. I have killed many, but I have my honor. I have never harmed a civilian or unarmed opponent. I did what I had to do so that I could protect my brothers. I am not sorry for that."

"I followed a Mech that cares for nothing more than power and control. I turned a blind eye to the destruction my faction caused and never gave much thought to anyone beyond my brothers. I helped destroy most of my planet and I have little doubt that the end of Cybertron approaches. Those are the actions that I've taken and regret the most."

"I wish that I had not become who I am. I wish that I had not killed bots that I once considered as friends. I wish that my brothers had stayed innocent and untouched by the evils that Megatron's war has brought. I wish for the chance to make things right. To fight Megatron with the Autobots as well as protect my brothers from him."

"I'm sure I don't deserve a second chance, but if I did get that chance, I would use it to protect my home." Thundercracker proclaimed to Primus.

"**Very well, I believe your words youngling. If I am to grant your wish, you must know that you will be reincarnated. Your memories will be locked away until they are needed once again.**"

"I understand." Thundercracker said with a heavy Spark. His brothers were going to be decimated by his supposed death, but a few years of separation was better than going to the Pit for all eternity.

"**No you do not. You will not like what you will see in your next life and once you regain your memories, you will lose the serenity that your new existence offered you. You will have to deal with the decisions fate has made and put the past behind you. This second chance is a gift and a curse. Do you accept it?**" Primus said and already Thundercracker could feel the warmth of Primus surround his body.

"I accept." Thundercracker said as he disappeared and waited for time to pass so that he could be reborn. '_Wait for me brothers, I'll return to you soon._'

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Fellow Decepticons, I bring you grave news. Today one of my finest soldiers sacrificed his Spark for mine. Thundercracker was the greatest warrior I could ever ask for. He was strong, loyal, brave, and smart. His death will forever be a symbol of the costs we must make in order to protect our cause, to protect the Decepticon cause. I ask you all to give a moments silence in respect for our fallen comrade." Megatron said to his gathered forces as he bowed his head in silence. The other Decepticons followed his example except for two bots that were in the back of the room.

Skywarp gave a slight whimper that only his brother heard. Discreetly, Starscream placed a servo unto his younger brothers' back in comfort. Starscream glared at the warriors in front of him and felt as if they were mocking his older brother. Thundercracker had been the best warrior the Decepticons would ever have and his memory deserved more than just a moment's silence. He looked up at Megatron with torn feelings.

In his mind he understood what his Master had said. He should feel more loyal to Megatron than ever before. His brother had given his life up for the Mech and he should honor his brothers' sacrifice by giving himself completely to the Megatron's cause.

His Spark however, disagreed. For whatever reason, it held a small amount of contempt towards the Decepticon leader. He was supposed to be the strongest, wasn't he? Didn't that mean that Megatron shouldn't need someone to die for him?

Why would Thundercracker sacrifice himself for Megatron anyways?

He knew his older brother held no love for the Mech. The only people Thundercracker would give his Spark up for was his Trine and no one else. Again Starscream felt the horrible echo of his brothers' Spark disappearing from their Trine bond and he held back the painful shudder that beat against his body. He felt Skywarp cringe at the icy feeling of the missing piece and sent reassurance through their bond.

Starscream turned his attention to the only other Decepticon that would truly care about Thundercracker's demise, Slipstream. She was his brothers' best friend and at one point, rumored love interest. Starscream didn't know if they really were lovers, his brother had always changed the subject when it came up.

She had become like an older sister to Skywarp, but Starscream knew his own feelings for her went deeper than a sibling relationship. He liked her, a lot, but had never acted on his feelings out of respect for his brother. He could see her wings pointed down a little and that was a telltale sign to any other Seeker that she was upset.

He looked around the room and saw that wretch Airachnid among the crowd. His brother had never liked her, though Starscream could only guess why. Skywarp was quite smitten with her though and that was probably the only reason for why his older brother had behaved himself whenever he had to deal with her. He was startled out of his musings by Skywarp nudging him.

"Megatron just called you up to the front to say a few words about… him." Skywarp mumbled as he looked at the floor. Starscream nodded and made his way to the front to stand next to Megatron.

"The loss of my brother will be… hard to bear, but he would not have wanted us to sulk in our memories. Thundercracker was a strong Cybertronian and he would have expected us to stay strong as well. I, personally, am looking forward to our next encounter with the Autobots. I vow to render any enemy I run into Sparkless in vengeance for my brother." He growled as he clenched his servos hard enough to produce sparks.

"We are Decepticons, we are strong, and we will show how powerful we can be. Under Lord Megatron's leadership, we will take Cybertron and free it of the Autobot plague. All hail Lord Megatron!" Starscream shouted to the roaring crowd.

He never noticed the concern looks Skywarp and Slipstream sent him, nor did he see Megatron smiling victoriously from the shadows.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Okay so there's chapter one and all the events took place before the war got too bad. I'm not sure if Transformers Primes is a continuation of War for Cybertron, but I ignored the video game in this story anyway.

I redesigned Thundercracker to have an honor system and extreme loyalty to his brothers. In other series, Thundercracker would never defy Megatron and was loyal to the Decepticon cause. I don't know why, but I've always liked him and it was sad how he never got much screen time. Here he's the big brother who's serious and wise.

I also made Thundercracker into a total badass. He can take on Megatron in a one-on-one fight and he's the strongest seeker of the Decepticons. He would have killed Megatron if it hadn't been for that stray shot.

I had Starscream be the loyal Decepticon at the beginning, but the death of his brother and the continuous torture Megatron will put him through will eventually change him into the sneaky, power-hungry, schemer we've all come to love.

I've never really seen too much of Transformers G1, but from the Fan fiction stories I've read, Skywarp is usually depicted as a jokester.

I honestly don't know much about Slipstream. I know that she's a female seeker and that in Transformers Animated, she was Starscream's clone. In this story she isn't a clone and she's sort of a loner Decepticon. Megatron usually sends her out on Energon scouting missions throughout space. I won't say anything about her relationship with Thundercracker, but I will make it clearer by saying that Starscream likes her.

Now you're all probably wondering where I'm going with the whole 'Thundercracker being reborn' thing. I won't say what's going to happen, but I bet that some of you guys can figure out where this is going.

Next chapter will start during the episode Darkness Rising Part three.

~Hexalys~


	2. Captured

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

To **Panther-Strife**, there will defiantly be feelings between Jack and Slipstream, but this is going to be a Jack x Arcee. I based Thundercracker a little bit off of Armada Starscream. They share the same honor code and that same steadfast loyalty, even if the only loyalty Thundercracker has shown so far was only for his Trine.

Now, your orders are to read this chapter and review or else I will be forced to eliminate you.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 2: Captured

Jack Darby honestly didn't know how his life had suddenly gotten so… unbelievable.

Only two days ago he had lamented about how boring and normal life was in Jasper to his Mom while on the phone. Five minutes later he was kidnapped by an alien robot motorcycle and shot at by more alien robots. He was again taken by the alien robot motorcycle, named Arcee, along with two other kids that he barely knew, to a secret alien base yesterday.

He had met the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, who pretty much told him point blank that they had stumbled upon a war that was older than humanity. He and the other two kids, Raf and Miko, would probably now be targeted by the evil Decepticons because of their new "association" with the Autobots.

Jack now had Arcee as his guardian, who seemed more inclined to push him off onto someone else, if her ditching him to go out and scout with Bumblebee was anything to go by.

Truthfully, Jack had mixed feelings about his whole situation. On the one hand, knowing that he was one of the few humans who was on a first name basis with robot aliens was pretty amazing. On the other hand, he now knew that there was also a group of evil aliens who had ravaged his planet and could care less for the lives of humanity, and that left him feeling pretty terrified.

Now he was crouching behind Bulkhead with Raf and Miko as they tried to stay hidden from the Autobot liaison, Agent Fowler. Bulkhead tried shifting his stance to hide them better, but only made the situation worse. His moving pulled against the cord connected to Miko's guitar which was now making very loud noises.

"Since when are you bots electric?" Fowler asked and Jack shot a worried glance to Miko and Raf. Bulkhead didn't seem to be able to think of a plausible excuse for an answer and Jack heard Fowler move towards the stairs. Thinking quick, Jack turned to Miko and Raf.

"Stay here, got it?" He whispered and they both nodded their heads before Jack walked out from behind Bulkhead's foot with Miko's guitar. "Hey, how's it going?" Jack said as he waved casually toward Fowler.

Though he sounded calm, Jack felt anything but. He didn't know what was going to happen now, but he'd seen enough movies to know that he would be taken into Fowler's custody. Subtly, he shot a glance up toward Bulkhead who shifted his stance again to hide Miko and Raf better. The bot sent Jack a nod as thanks for at least protecting the other two and they both turned their attention back to Fowler.

"Contact with a civilian. Team Prime has really gone off book this time. Wait let me guess, you're running a daycare center." Fowler said sarcastically and Bulkhead once again struggled to come up with a response.

"I'm an intern…" Jack said with vigor before he realized how ridiculous he sounded, but he had to try. "It's for extra credit in Auto shop."

"Okay kid, let's move. I'm taking you under federal custody. It's for your own protection." Fowler said as he moved down the stairs. Jack quickly moved to the bottom of the stairs, hoping to stop Fowler's advancement so that he wouldn't see Miko and Raf. Jack saw Bulkhead was about to protest and was in the process of raising the foot that Miko and Raf were hiding behind.

"I'll be okay Bulkhead." Jack said as he quickly shook his head no and walked up the stairs towards Fowler, making sure that the man's attention was focused solely on him. Bulkhead quickly lowered his foot before Fowler could notice the other kids and tried again.

"We're protecting him." Bulkhead growled defensively. Fowler laid a firm hand on Jack's shoulder and directed him towards the elevator.

"Not anymore, and you can be sure that my superiors will hear about this breach in protocol." Fowler said before the elevator doors closed with Jack standing beside him.

Bulkhead turned to look down at the kids and sighed. Optimus was going to have his aft for this.

Jack sighed as he got into the helicopter seat beside Agent Fowler. He looked around the cockpit and felt a bit nervous. He'd never flown before and knowing that this ride no doubt led to a government base did not ease his nerves. Fowler got into the pilot's seat and turned to Jack as the helicopter's engine started up.

"What's your name kid?" He called as the sound of the spinning blades overhead grew louder.

"Jack." He shouted back, not knowing whether he should give his full name or not. Fowler simply nodded and pulled the helicopter up into the sky.

Instantly, a wave of nausea hit Jack and he groaned as he realized that he was suffering from air sickness. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing as he heard Fowler use the radio.

"Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm in route from the Autobot base with a civilian. I'll brief you in person." Fowler said before he turned off the radio. He shot a glance at Jack and saw that the kid looked ready to hurl.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Starscream focused on the data screens in front of him as he thought about the best way to locate the Autobots. He bit back a growl as his left servo ran over some of the new dents Megatron had given him since his return. He had hoped that the treacherousness of space would have been too much for the Decepticon overlord. Alas, it seemed Primus had not granted his wish.

Useless deity.

Still, he supposed that there were some things to be gained from Megatron's return. The discovery of Dark Energon could prove useful to him in the future and it was so kind of Megatron to offer himself as a lab rat. Now he could observe what affects Dark Energon had on a Cybertronian before he used it on himself.

An image of Cliffjumper being brought back from the dead flashed across his processors and he tried to stifle a shudder.

Starscream was by no means an innocent Mech. He had seen and done things that would make even the most hardened Cybertronian soldier purge his tanks. Having seen that… thing resurrected had been a very haunting experience. The whole scenario had deeply unsettled his Spark. Starscream was brought out of his thoughts as Soundwave began playing a live channel he picked up concerning the Autobots.

"-_Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm in route from the Autobot base with a civilian. I'll brief you in person._"

"Autobot base, eh? Humans, always the weak link. Fetch me this Fowler, so that he may brief us instead. As well as the civilian, I suspect it to be the same one that the Autobot Arcee was reported to have been seen with." Starscream said as he turned to Soundwave.

He watched as Soundwave activated the program Laserbeak and saw the drone fly off to complete its' mission.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack's focus on his breathing was suddenly interrupted by an alarm from somewhere on the control panel.

"Hey big bird, I'm flying here." He heard Fowler say and he opened his eyes just in time to see another aircraft appear in front of them. "What in Uncle Sam's beard?" Fowler said as he leaned forward to get a better look at the approaching plane. Jack stared at the devious looking aircraft as it charged towards them with fear and alarm.

"It's a Decepticon!" He shouted as it flew so close Fowler had to make a sharp turn to avoid getting hit.

"Oomph! First the freeways aren't safe, now air travel?" Fowler said incredulously and Jack shot the man a disbelieving look. Now was definitely not the time to be making jokes. Jack looked behind them just in time to see the Decepticon pull up and brush against the tail of the helicopter throwing them slightly off course again.

Jack looked forward to see that they were heading straight towards a mountain of stone and that they weren't slowing down. "Wall! WALL!" He shouted as he grabbed his seat for dear life. Fowler pulled back on the controls and they shot straight up into the air.

"Easy Jack, I know what I'm doing. This ain't my first rodeo kid." Fowler said calmly as they reached the top of the cliff and flew forward while hovering only a few feet above the ground. They kept going straight until Jack felt the helicopter suddenly drop down on the other side of the cliff and saw the Decepticon fly past them overhead.

Fowler quickly brought the copter up behind the Decepticon and Jack did his best not to throw up. "You want to dance Con? I'll lead!" Fowler shouted with a smirk as shot at the Decepticon. As Fowler chased after the Decepticon and continued to open fire on it, Jack saw that the bullets were causing little to no damage.

The Decepticon suddenly shot up and Jack watched in horror as it came down and cut off the tail to the copter with its' wings. Warnings went off throughout the cockpit as they started to spin out of control, telling Jack what he already knew. They were going down.

"Never an Autobot around when you actually need one." Fowler growled as he tried to regain control of the aircraft and sounded only mildly distressed. "Kid, there's an emergency eject button under your seat."

"I don't think I'll get the chance to use it!" Jack answered as he saw the Decepticon lunge towards them with tentacle like arms. Jack's eyes caught Fowlers hand move towards a flashing red button just as the Decepticon caught the helicopter, jerking them forward painfully.

A tentacle smashed through the windshield and covered Jack in cuts from the glass. As Fowler fought off the tentacle Jack reached over and pressed the red button the man had been reaching for earlier and prayed that it would alert the Autobots about their situation. Jack shouted in alarm as he felt the claws of the Decepticon wrap around his left bicep and was pulled out of the helicopter along with Agent Fowler.

Jack and Fowler watched as the helicopter crashed into the ground below and they both looked at each other as they fidgeted uncomfortably in the Decepticons' grip. Being dangled in the air with only an arm acting as the anchor from being effected by gravity was painful. Jack felt as if his arm was being pulled out of his socket with every new twist and turn the Decepticon made.

"I should have stayed with Bulkhead." Jack muttered to himself, though he didn't really mean it.

If he hadn't done what he did, Miko and Raf could be with him right now instead. He looked at the massive alien ship that the Decepticon was flying to and realized with dread that he and Fowler were being taken to the Decepticon stronghold. And today had started off so cool with that awesome ride Arcee had given him.

Once they entered the ship, Jack and Fowler were brought towards a large Decepticon who didn't seem to have a face. The Decepticon that had been holding them dropped them into the awaiting hands of a Vehicon and transformed to attach its' self into the chest of the faceless Decepticon. Without a word the faceless Decepticon walked out of Jack's sight and the Vehicon holding them took them down a large and foreboding hallway.

Jack shot a nervous glance at Agent Fowler, who was trapped in the other hand of the Vehicon and tried not to think about what was going to happen next. It didn't take a lot of commonsense to know that he was either going to be interrogated or used as leverage against the Autobots, most likely both. He could only hope that they were rescued before anything worse happened like getting killed.

Jack and Fowler were brought into a dark room that seemed to have only one light that shined down into the middle of the room leaving the rest of it covered in shadows. Chains hung down from the ceiling and Jack shivered as he saw them swaying slightly. Jack was dropped onto the ground next to Fowler and he looked up to see a new Decepticon standing in front of them.

He sucked in his breath as the light only illuminated parts of the Decepticon in front of him and something in Jack stirred at the sight of him. He was tall, taller than any Decepticon he'd seen so far and he had wings.

_Seeker_

The word had risen from deep within his mind, but Jack knew that it was what this Decepticon was called. Strange that he didn't know how he knew that though? He didn't remember the Autobots telling him much about the Decepticons bedsides their goals and their leader, so how did he know that word?

"Welcome, Agent Fowler, and you too boy. Tell me, are you the same human who was seen with the Autobot Arcee?" The Decepticon said with a voice that ran a chill up his spine.

Jack was of course terrified of this giant, but there was also something more to it. He just couldn't place his finger on the feeling. He pushed himself off of the floor and into a crouching position in case he had to make a run for it, before he answered the Decepticon.

"I am." He answered simply, seeing no point in giving out his name and he doubted that the Decepticon cared to know it anyways.

"You treat all your guests this nice?" Fowler said as he pulled himself off the floor and brushed off some shattered glass from his shoulders, hoping to take away the Decepticon's attention away from Jack. He knew it was fault that the boy was in such a dire situation, "federal custody, for your own protection" he'd said and Fowler meant it. The boy was his responsibility and he'd be damned if he let something happen to Jack.

Jack startled when he heard the Decepticon chuckle, not only because it scared him, but because he suddenly felt like he heard that laugh before.

"Any friend of the Autobots…" The Decepticon Seeker trialed off as he turned towards them.

Jack stared at the con with fear and poorly timed curiosity. He was mostly silver with `red and blue highlights throughout his armor. The Decepticon somehow looked familiar to Jack, but he knew he'd never seen something so alien before two days ago. Jack was brought out of his musings by Fowler's reply.

"Autobot? That one of them coin operated wash my own car places?" Fowler said with a shrug and a smile. Jack sighed in relief, knowing that Fowler wasn't about to betray the Autobots anytime soon. He also finally understood why Fowler made jokes at inappropriate times. It was a defensive mechanism to cover up his worries or fears.

Jack looked back up at the Decepticon and found that he wasn't amused and had already caught onto what Fowler was trying to do.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be hmm? Apparently no one has told you I have no appreciation for human humor. Well since you don't want to talk, perhaps our young friend will be more accommodating? Lock up Agent Fowler and make the boy… comfortable." The Decepticon said as he disappeared into the shadows. A Vehicon appeared from behind Agent Fowler and took him out of the room.

"Jack!" Fowler shouted as he saw another Decepticon advance upon the kid as the doors closed behind him. Jack stared up at the Decepticon as it clenched its' fists and moved toward him. He heard Fowler scream his name before the man was taken away.

The Decepticon lunged for him and Jack jumped just in time to avoid being caught. He ran towards the Decepticons' feet and found several wires that lay hidden behind the Vehicons' armor.

Without thinking, Jack drove his hand in between the joints of the Decepticons' ankle and pulled out a handful of wires with all his might. Sparks flew from the wires and a few burnt Jack's hand, but the way the Decepticon screamed made the whole thing worth it.

"It tore out my pede circuits!" The Vehicon shouted in disbelief as he crashed into the ground and moved to examine his foot.

Another Vehicon had grabbed Jack as he tried to run away again and with a free hand, Jack tore out the wires in the Vehicons' wrist. Jack let out a small yell as he fell from the Vehicons' now non-responding hand and hit the ground hard. He shouted in pain as he landed on his feet before he collapsed onto the ground. He had little doubt that he just sprained both his ankles if the pain they were radiating was anything to go by.

He was once again grabbed by a Vehicon, though this one had made sure that both of Jack's arms were secured in his grip and was brought over to the chains. Though Jack was defiantly hurting, he continued to struggle and put up a fight. He didn't know where this side of him came from.

He was usually a bigger wimp than this, but even though he was clearly outmatched, something inside of him had awoken. He needed to fight, like he was born to do it or something. The Vehicon moved away from him once he was securely chained in place, hovering over twenty feet above the ground.

He struggled against the chains that kept him in place knowing that it was useless, but feeling like he had to try. The other Vehicons had moved to stand in a triangle around him and the doors opened up to reveal the Seeker Decepticon from before. The Decepticons' eyes swept over the Vehicons and he spotted the sparks that came from the wounds Jack had given them.

"I leave you to guard a human and yet you fools can't even get that right. All of you get out of my sight." He growled before he moved to stand in front of Jack.

"Yes, Commander Starscream." Jack heard the Vehicons say before they marched out of the room.

Starscream.

Jack had no idea why, but that name seemed to echo in his skull. A wave of protectiveness like he'd never felt before flooded through him and it terrified Jack. Why was he experiencing these things all of a sudden? He hadn't felt anything like this when he'd been with the Autobots and Jack had a pretty good guess about who was causing these unusual feelings.

Starscream.

"Now boy, I have one simple request that will save your family the pain of grieving." Starscream said as he circled around Jack. He could feel the vibrations that echoed from Starscream's movement through the chains holding him in place. Suddenly Jack felt Starscream touch his chin and he was hit by an onslaught of images that swarmed before his eyes.

…_**He was standing over a panel and looking at a data screen as Starscream told him about the latest Energon raids**_… _**He was sharing an Energon cube with Starscream as they talked about the newest Femme recruits**_… _**He dodged the punch Starscream threw at him as he corrected him on his form**_… _**He stood beside Starscream as he received the mark of a Decepticon**_…

"-is the Autobot base?" Starscream asked as pulled away his servo and Jack from the odd visions he just had.

_'What the hell was that?' _Jack mentally asked himself. He was panting heavily and shaking slightly from the disturbing experience he'd just had.

Blearily, Jack looked up at Starscream and saw that the Seeker was still waiting for him to answer his question. Obviously the Decepticon had no idea what he'd just seen and Jack fully intended to keep it that way.

"Even if I knew where the base was, I wouldn't tell a grunt like you!" Jack said with a fierceness he never knew he could muster.

"_Grunt?_ I make the decisions here. I am in charge! Bring the prod." Starscream growled as he moved to address the Vehicon guarding the door. Jack swung slightly in the wake of Starscream's movement and sarcastically congratulated himself on angering his captor.

Starscream and Jack only had to stare at each other for a few moments before the Vehicon entered the room and gave the prod to Starscream.

"I'll ask nicely one last time, the Autobot base?" Starscream inquired as he stood in front of Jack. Jack looked up at him and felt another wave of protectiveness come over him again. He sighed in confusion and acceptance before he spoke.

"Sorry, can't tell you that Starscream." Jack said as he looked down at the floor and ignored the feeling of rightness he got when he said the Decepticons' name. Starscream raised the prod that glowed with a dark blue energy before jabbing it into Jack's chest.

"_Aaaahhhhh!_" Jack screamed as he felt pain flood throughout his body as well as new images that appeared before his eyes.

…_**He raised an Energon cube in honor of his fallen friend, Mirage, whom he'd killed earlier that day**_… _**He was staring down impassively at the Autobot who begged for mercy before delivering the finishing blow**_… _**He ignored the cries the civilians made as he flew over their burning homes and left them to die**_… _**He was apologizing to Primus as he proceeded to kill Autobots in front of the god**_…

"-I imagined. Energon and the human nervous system do not mix." Starscream said with a smirk as he pulled the prod away from Jack.

Jack's breath came out heavy and his body continued to twitch because of the aftereffects from the surge generated by the prod. The pain from his cuts and injured ankles increased and his arms felt like they were about to be ripped from his torso, yet Jack didn't pay any attention to his numerous wounds.

He was crying and not because of the pain, but because of all the horrible things he had just seen. Had he really done all of those terrible things? It seemed impossible, but he couldn't hide the fact that it honestly felt like he had. Those visions, he realized, felt more like memories than anything else.

Suddenly an odd sense of peace and content for the horrible things he'd done settled over him. It wouldn't last long, but he only had to hang on until help arrived. He stared up at Starscream as he felt the tears start to stop.

"Do your worst." He growled with a strength he'd only just discovered he possessed.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

First off, Jack went with Agent Fowler to stop the man from finding out about Miko and Raf. Better he think that there was only one human instead of three.

Starscream knows about Jack because a Vehicon had reported that Arcee had picked up a human in episode one. Starscream chose Jack to interrogate because he thought that a child would have a weaker resolve than Fowler, not because he sensed something in Jack.

Jack got visions of good things when he made contact with Starscream and visions of bad things from the Energon for a reason. As you can see his meeting Starscream and seeing those visions has already begun to change Jack a little.

Eventually the visions will become longer and make more sense to Jack, but for right now, he'll just muddle his way through.

~Hexalys~


	3. Rescued

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

There's a lot of action and drama coming with this chapter so fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy read.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 3: Rescued

Arcee tore through the desert that made up Nevada with Bumblebee right behind her. She had just received a message from Bulkhead saying that he was just outside the Decepticon flagship, the Nemesis, with Miko and Raf.

Oh, and Jack had been captured by the Decepticons along with Agent Fowler.

She unconsciously increased her speed as she thought about all the terrible things the Cons could be doing to Jack. He wasn't her partner. How could he be? He was just a human kid, her charge, and she seemed to already be failing at her new role as Jack's guardian.

For a brief instant her processor replayed the memory of finding Cliff's horn and a new image formed over that. This time she found Jack's bloody shirt and nothing more. She pushed her engine harder and heard Bumblebee yelling for her to slow down. With reluctance she eased up on the gas so that she didn't leave the yellow bot in the dust.

By the All-Spark, she couldn't lose someone she was responsible for to the Cons again. Her psyche wouldn't be able to handle it. She was bent, she knew that. Not yet broken, but it wouldn't take too much at this point. When she snapped, if she snapped, she didn't know what would happen, but she knew it wouldn't be pretty for whatever Decepticon that stood in her way.

She mentally shook herself out of her thoughts of how damaged she was and focused on the rescue mission. She would not lose another friend, be it bot or human, to the Decepticons.

She thought about calling Optimus, but he was even further away from the Nemesis than she was. She checked her position and saw that she and Bee were still about twenty minutes away.

'_If Jack is dead, I'll offline every single Con on that ship._'

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Starscream was not pleased. He had shocked the human boy with the prod over twelve times already. Any normal Cybertronian usually cracked after nine. The boy twitched and jerked uncontrollable and his earlier wounds had only intensified through all of it.

His lesions had opened up more and his life blood covered his upper body. How interesting that a humans' life blood was red. At one point Starscream had heard something pop in the humans' left shoulder causing the boy to scream out in pain.

Yet with all the damage the human suffered, he didn't seem to be any closer to breaking or to revealing where the Autobot base was. The boy was foolish. He had nothing to gain by keeping his mouth shut.

Starscream toyed with the idea of just finishing the boy off and to start interrogating Agent Fowler instead, but decided against it. It now felt like a challenge to break this boy, and he would not lose.

Still, he had gathered some information from the boy, even if the info was basically useless. The fleshling had gotten tired of being called human or boy earlier and had told him his name with a growl.

Jack certainly had a backbone.

"You try my patience Jack! Where is the Autobot base? If you don't tell me, I may just have to try my hand at Agent Fowler and I don't know how long he would last. In any case, I doubt he will be as resilient as you!" Starscream growled at the boy and saw a flash of worry appear in the boys' eyes.

"You don't want me to do this to him, do you?" Starscream asked with a smirk and for a second he thought he'd won, until he saw the boy smirk back at him. "I can have him brought to me with a single command Jack, just as easily as I can end your life. Perhaps, I will do just that."

"But that would mean I won." Starscream's eyes flashed a dark red before he lunged at the boy and wrapped his servos tightly around the Jack's body. So the child had been challenging him!

"I'll I have to do is squeeze." Starscream growled as he tightened his grip to prove his point. He heard the boy grunt in pain and watched in amusement as the child bit on his lip so hard that it started to bleed.

Humans were so weak.

"Then what's stopping you?" Jack replied as he panted heavily. Starscream growled as he took a closer look at the boy. His body was bleeding and broken, but his spirit had only grown stronger through it all.

Maybe humans weren't so weak after all.

~Energon is Thicker then Blood~

Fowler cursed as he tried to get out of his chains again without being noticed by the Vehicons in the room. Jack had been stuck with that creepy Decepticon for a good hour now. The grunts in the room had already started a betting pool on whether Jack would live through his interrogation or not and his odds weren't looking very good.

From what Fowler gathered from the various mutters of conversations from the Vehicons throughout the room, Starscream was a pretty vicious and abusive boss. Though apparently not as abusive as their leader Megatron. One Vehicon said he wished that some Con named Thundercracker was still around and that set the other Vehicons off.

Apparently, this Thundercracker had the respect and admiration of all Vehicons.

They went on and on about what a great comrade and teacher he was. How he always looked out for them, the grunts, and had even shared a few drinks with them from time to time. They all wished that he had been made Commander instead of Starscream, who was apparently Thundercracker's younger brother. Then they all cursed the Autobots for being the cause of their beloved ally's death.

The Vehicons' attention and Fowler's turned to the doors when they opened up to reveal the Autobots. Fowler watched in awe as he saw the Autobots take down the Cons in a matter of minutes, leaving them as nothing more than piles of scrap.

"Hey bots! Over here!" Fowler called and he saw that they had two new kids with them. "Two more civilians! Man you bots really go that extra mile don't you?" Fowler said in disbelief as Arcee took off his chains.

"Where's Jack?" Arcee growled.

"He's in the brig." Fowler answered as he stood up and stretched.

"I want you to watch the kids and _stay here_." Arcee said and left with the other Autobots before Fowler could protest. He shook his head at the whole situation he had gotten Jack into. Had he left the kid at the Autobot base or hadn't radioed his position for anybody to hear, then Jack wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

Fowler turned to look around the room, hoping to find some sort of weapon he could use to protect himself and the kids. In his search he spotted some weird math mumbo jumbo up on one of the screens and walked up to it.

"It looks like an algebraic equation." Fowler heard the boy say from behind him and he nodded his head in agreement.

"You got a computer on you right? Is there any way you can download that?" The girl asked and Fowler turned to see that the kid was already working on it.

"The encryption system they have is way too complex for me to crack. I don't think I can download it either." The kid answered as he pulled out a flash drive. "Maybe if I can find a port for this, I can download it along with the encryption codes and the Autobots can break it."

"Sounds like a plan little man. The name's Special Agent Fowler, you?" He asked the kid.

"I'm Raf and this is Miko." Raf said as he searched for a port on the alien console.

"Dude, what are you doing? You never give your real name to a fed!" Miko shouted from beside Fowler who shot her an irritated look. So far Jack and Raf seemed like good kids, but he wasn't so sure if he liked the girl.

After a few moments Raf was about to say that it didn't look like he could use his flash drive when the door opened and a Vehicon walked in.

"Let's go!" Fowler hissed as he grabbed Miko's hand and ran for cover.

He let go as her hand as they hid in an alcove and turned to look up at the Con, only to find it about to fire at Raf. Fowler charged from his cover and pulled the kid out of the way of the shots, cursing a little as one of the shots skimmed his right leg. As they found cover Fowler heard Raf shout something to Miko about taking a picture.

"Great idea!" Miko shouted back as she moved forward to get a better picture of the Vehicon.

"Not that! I meant take a picture of the equation!" Raf shouted and Fowler hit himself in the face when he heard her quite "Oh."

'_These kids are going to be the death of me, I just know it._' Fowler thought as he made sure to grab both of the children before fleeing from the Vehicon who was in hot pursuit.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He'd lost count how many times Starscream had prodded him, but every vision that flash in front of his eyes was burned into his mind.

He had killed Autobots and while he hadn't killed any civilians, he certainly hadn't tried to save any of them. Starscream was torturing him, but not in the way that he thought. With every new shock of Energon the visions lasted longer and became clearer. And each Autobot life he took cut him deeper than the glass shards buried in his arms.

Then when Starscream had grabbed him, he had not only gained more visions, but he'd felt a pulse surge through him. He knew Starscream. It didn't make sense and there was no way for it to be possible, but it was true. Somehow he knew Starscream.

"My dear Jack, you do realize the Autobots have abandoned you." Starscream said and Jack felt his insides freeze.

'_They wouldn't abandon me, would they?_' Jack didn't think so, but then again why would they come to save him, especially after he had killed so many of them. '_No, that's not right! I never killed anyone! These visions aren't real; they have to be some kind of Decepticon trick!_' Jack thought desperately. He ignored the doubt he felt towards his own thoughts and clung to the excuse he had made up for himself.

"I'm not a murderer and the Autobots will come for me." Jack mumbled out loud to himself, forgetting where he was at the moment.

Starscream shot Jack and odd look, but brushed off the child's words. His resolve was obviously starting to crumble, along with his mind.

"I am the only one you can rely upon now." Starscream continued as he moved closer to Jack, offering an easygoing smile that he'd perfected from his years of lying to Megatron.

Jack felt another strange emotion race through him at Starscream's words and he did his best to block out the new feeling. He knew Starscream was lying, that Starscream would probably kill him after he answered his question. But yet again Jack felt something towards Starscream that he knew he shouldn't.

It was with a sudden start that Jack recognized the feeling as trust. He felt trust towards Starscream!

He was so confused and scared by all of the emotions and feelings he was getting. God, he didn't even know whether he wanted to laugh or cry at the moment! He felt trust in Starscream, but he knew he couldn't trust Starscream. How was that even possible?

Jack shook his head in a useless attempt to get rid of his traitorous feelings. How could he be feeling this way towards someone who was hurting him, who was the enemy to his planet and the Autobots?

"So tell me what I want to know or…" Starscream trailed off and raised the prod threateningly towards Jack. Jack stared at the prod with weariness and fear. God, he was just so tried. He wanted nothing more than to breakdown, to give in and to be left alone.

Why was he being so noble anyways? He had killed Autobots before, so why was he was letting himself be tortured for them? That made no sense! Were they his friends? He had only known the Autobots for three days, so why? Shouldn't he tell Starscream, a person he trusted more than the Autobots, what he wanted to know?

Why should he give his life up for them?

Jack had never felt more lost and confused than he was right now. Suddenly, selfishness swelled up inside of him. Why should he allow himself be put through this pain for people who had apparently abandoned him? It was rule number one, always look out for yourself.

Just as quickly as his selfishness came, it left, leaving Jack feeling ashamed with himself.

"Stop no more… there in a government base… or was it a steel mill?" Jack muttered loudly enough for Starscream to hear. Whatever triumph Starscream had felt at the beginning of Jack's sentence had quickly turned into rage by the end of it.

The sudden pain surging through Jack's body told him that Starscream had not lied before. He really didn't have any appreciation for human humor. No images flashed before him this time, but Jack felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Before he passed out, Jack thought he heard sounds from just outside the door.

…_**Jack hid behind a demolished building he recognized as the Pit Pub, his favorite bar. He looked over at Starscream and saw the seeker throw him a look of pure fear that Jack could easily understand. **_

_**Being caught in the middle of a battle that they had no place in was terrifying. **_

_**He moved from his cover to attack a group of fighters in front of them. Some dodged his missile, but it had mostly been a warning shot anyways. The two sides continued their fight with only a few bots from each side turning to fire at Jack and Starscream. Maybe that last shot hadn't been a smart move after all.**_

_**Jack didn't care if the Rebel Forces decided to fight against the Protectors of the Senate, but he did care that they had their fights in the streets of Iacon. This battle was a message that Jack understood loud and clear, the war was escalating.**_

_**"Starscream, transform and get out of here!" Jack shouted as he crouched to avoid the shots that had been aimed at him from both sides.**_

_**"I can't! My left wing is damaged!" Starscream shouted back in a panicked voice. Jack immediately searched for a safe path that they could take to get out of the battle zone, but found none.**_

_**"Listen to me Starscream; we're going to have to fight our way out of here. Do you understand?" Jack shouted and ducked as debris showered over them both. Starscream looked at him like he had a fried processor, but nodded.**_

_**Starscream stayed closed to him as they moved from building to building and Jack shot at anyone who was in their way. Starscream was only a student at the Iacon University, so he had no weapons and no experience when it came to fighting. Fortunately, Jack had learned how to fight because of his work as a Procurer. **_

_**Jack turned his head to look back the way they had come to see if they had been followed, never seeing the shot that had been launched at him from the front.**_

_**"Thundercracker!" Jack heard Starscream yell just before he felt something hit his left shoulder and was launched through the air. He hit the ground hard, but barely noticed it over the pain he felt burning into his shoulder.**_

_**As his vision began to fade he saw that Starscream was about to be blasted by the same bot that had shot him, only to see the bot blasted by another Mech. Jack saw the large Mech help Starscream to his feet and as they moved towards him, Jack realized that Starscream's savior was the leader of the rebel army, Megatron**_…

"Wake up you pathetic lump of flesh!" Jack heard Starscream shout and he jerked forward instinctively, looking to see if Starscream was okay.

"I'm up Starscream." Jack reassured him as he looked around them for any other attackers. His shoulder still ached terribly, as did the rest of his body. "Where'd that other Mech go, the one that saved you?" Jack mumbled as he tried to clear his head. He was certain that the Mech had been Megatron and he hoped that he was wrong.

He didn't want Starscream to get mixed up in the war.

"What are you blathering about?" Starscream said as he glared at his human prisoner. Jack looked up at Starscream in confusion and concern.

"You know, we were going to the Pit Pub and stumbled onto a fight between the Protectors and the Rebels. Did your processor fry because of the heat of the battle or something?" Jack asked as he smirked up at a stunned Starscream. It wasn't often that he made a joke so he could understand Starscream's stunned reaction.

Starscream stared down at the human with a bitter curiosity. He had been attacked on the way to the Pit Pub, but that was a long time ago and with his brother. Starscream shook himself out of his memories before he could lose his focus and filed away the oddly precise things Jack had said for later. Right now he needed to know where the Autobot base was or else.

Suddenly the door opened up behind him and Starscream turned to address the Vehicon he had sent out to inspect the earlier noise.

"Well?" He shouted and saw the Vehicon fall to the ground. Bulkhead shot at the other Vehicon who had been in the room and moved into the brig with Bumblebee, both armed and eager to fire. Starscream quickly brought out his own gun and pointed it at Jack.

"Not so fast." He growled and was rewarded with a tap on the top of his head. He looked up and saw the Autobot Arcee hidden above him, gun humming and ready to be fired.

"I wouldn't!" She growled and he smiled as he remembered that Jack was reported to have been seen with her.

"Oh, but I might." He taunted back and his smirk widened as she glared at him. Really, there was something attractive about her fits of anger. If he didn't know any better he would say that Arcee would fit in better with the Decepticons than with the Autobots.

They all stared at each other for a few moments and Starscream felt his confidence increase. The Autobots would not risk their humans' safety. Perhaps he should hang on to Jack a little bit longer then? Maybe use him as a bargaining chip in the future? The idea had merit, plus there was still the matter of breaking the willful boy.

"Now, Jack and I will take our leave." Starscream said and he watched with amusement as the Autobots shifted a little, whether from nerves or anger, Starscream could only guess.

"Yeah, Starscream and I have grown real close in our short time together. Heck, we're almost like brothers!" Jack said sarcastically as he warily eyed the gun aimed at his head.

He had come to his senses once Bulkhead had fired at the Vehicon. He had watched the standoff for a minute before he realized that the Autobots were waiting for the right moment to attack, so that meant a distraction.

As Jack had hoped Starscream shot him a look between revulsion and disbelief. Jack got the feeling that Starscream was about to go into a tirade about how a disgusting fleshling could never be his brother, before the Autobots opened fire on him that is.

Jack watched as Starscream weaved in and out of their shots and felt pride for Seeker as he saw the Decepticon get away. It looked like Starscream still carried his title as the fastest Decepticon Seeker. Jack paused to reexamine this last thought, but gave it up as a loss cause. He was really hurt right now and he didn't have the brain power or energy to think about everything he'd experienced within the last hour.

"By the All-Spark! Jack!" He heard Arcee shout and he looked toward her as she moved to undo his chains as gently as she could. He bit his already bleeding lip to stop himself from screaming out loud as she jerked his left shoulder painfully. She brought him close to her chassis, supporting him with both arms, and showed him to the others.

"Scrap kid, they got you good." Bulkhead said in a low tone and Bumblebee let out some sad sounding beeps.

"I didn't tell them where the base is." Jack muttered with a small smile as he fell back into unconsciousness, proud of himself for being able to stay strong until the end.

"That's good Jack. You did good partner." Arcee whispered to him as Bumblebee transformed and she gently laid him in the back seat. "Let's go get Agent Fowler and the kids and get back to base." She said to Bulkhead and Bumblebee before she transformed and drove to where they had left the humans.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

It took a good half an hour before the Autobots returned back to base and all through the ride Jack kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Once they entered the base, Fowler found an old gurney that had been stored away and placed Jack on it. He began to administer first aide, but the old Army Ranger didn't know much.

Arcee had moved to operate the ground bridge, bringing back Optimus and Ratchet, who had been calling to be bridged back to base for fifteen minutes. Ratchet's medic sensors must have been tingling because the first thing he asked when he was bridged back was who had been hurt. Once Optimus and Ratchet had found Jack, Ratchet quickly went to work and Optimus demanded to know what happened.

The explanations seemed to go on for hours, but in truth they only lasted minutes. Then came the moment where everyone tried to take the blame for what happened. Arcee for leaving the base with Bumblebee and ignoring his orders to stay with the children, Fowler for taking Jack out of Bulkhead's care, and Bulkhead for allowing the children to come with him onto the Nemesis.

Optimus stared at the dower and guilty party in the room. In truth it was all their faults, however, had he not been so adamant on keeping his Autobots with their assigned children, none of this might have happened. It was just the way fate went sometimes. Even though a person can take every precaution necessary, things can still go wrong.

With those thoughts in mind, Optimus turned to look at Jack, a human who had bled for them today.

Optimus understood that Jack would make an easier target to interrogate than Agent Fowler. Jack was a youngling; whatever defenses or attachments he had should have been easily broken, as children are often weaker than adults. The fact that Jack had not broken and given up the location of their base was astounding.

What was even more amazing was the fact that Jack had consciously decided not to tell. He could have easily saved himself from pain, but had decided to protect them instead of himself.

Humans were far greater than he preconceived.

"Well, he'll continue to have muscle spasms for the next few days due to how much Energon was exposed to his nervous system, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage. The lesions are mostly shallow and insignificant; the only reason for why he bled so badly was because of the thrashing he did while under the influence of Energon."

"He won't need a blood transfusion, but he will be a little light headed and dizzy for a little bit. He has a mild sprain in his left ankle and severe bruising on his right ankle. His left shoulder had popped out of his socket, but I was able to put it back in while he was sedated. He should be waking up any moment now."

"You've done well, Ratchet." Optimus said as he nodded to his medic and oldest friend. He helped Ratchet put a brace onto his damaged arm and his friend shook his head in disagreement before he continued to speak.

"We are only fortunate that his injuries were not more severe or complex. What little knowledge I hold for the human anatomy is shaky at best. I see now that I must further my studies in human medicine, so that I can treat them if they need it in the future." Ratchet said as his optics landed onto the other children.

"What happened to you guys anyway?" Miko asked after she watched Optimus put on Ratchet's metal brace.

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors." Ratchet said calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

"Zombies? You guys fought zombies and I missed it!" Miko shouted indignantly as she stomped her foot.

"What? Storming the Decepticon stronghold wasn't enough for you?" Fowler asked in disbelief.

"Bulkhead you exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing the humans to accompany you." Optimus said. He did not want a repeat of what happened to Jack to happen to the other children.

"It won't happen again Optimus. I promise." Bulkhead replied solemnly. Had he only fought harder to keep Jack at the base, the kid wouldn't be in the position he was now.

"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault-" Miko started to say and was interrupted by Bulkhead.

"Miko, please." He whispered urgently.

"-and check it out. Recon!" She continued to say while ignoring Bulkhead.

"Hmmm, Ratchet have a look. It may be of importance to Megatron." Optimus said as he moved back from Miko and turned to his friend.

"Megatron's back?" Jack whispered to himself from the gurney.

He had slowly been coming to at the beginning of the conversation, but the mention of the Decepticon overlord had struck a nerve. Jack felt anger and hatred burn through him and he clenched his fists so hard his nails pierced his skin. He came to his senses in a matter of moments and released his grip.

Jack stared down at his now bleeding hands in frustration, Primus why was he having these unnatural reactions to anything involving a Decepticon? He paused as he realized that he had just substituted a name he'd never heard before in the place of God.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He turned his attention back to the others in the room. They had carried on the conversation having not noticed that he'd woken up and heard Miko say that Raf was almost blown away by a Vehicon.

"Miko, Raf was almost killed today. This isn't a game or some little fairy tale that you stumbled upon. The Decepticons mean business, so stop acting dumb and wise up girl!" Fowler shouted.

"Um, we were all almost killed Fowler. You, me, Raf, even them!" Miko yelled back and looked away from Fowler, glaring at the floor.

"Well if this is just an average day with the Autobots then I don't want to be a part of it, not anymore." Jack said as strongly as he could from his bed as he struggled to get up.

Everyone turned to him and Fowler quickly handed him a pair of crude metal crutches that the Autobots must have made for him while he'd been unconscious. He staggered for a moment before he balanced himself and looked at the others in the room.

"Jack, putting you in harm's way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you three that is at risk, but the safety of all human kind." Optimus said and Jack interrupted him before he could say more.

"Optimus, look at me!" He shouted incredulously. He saw the Autobot quickly avert his eyes, and Jack felt like punching something out of frustration. Jack was hurt, yes, but he wasn't just talking about physical his injuries. His mind and feelings had been through hell and back today. He wasn't going to tell them that though.

"What if it had been Raf that they'd caught instead of me?" Jack said through clenched teeth and Optimus quickly looked back at him in surprise. Jack was simply showing concern for the others and was using his physical state as an example for what could happen to the other children.

Optimus's spark bridled with respect for the young human who stood before him. Young Jack was a credit to his species.

"Had the Autobots been any later, I don't think I could have held out any longer. Even though I knew Starscream would have killed me once I answered his questions." Jack said quietly, as if softening his voice would make what he'd gone through easier to bear. "Primus! How am I going to explain all these injuries to my Mom?" Jack said as he realized how upset his Mother was going to be when she saw him.

He completely missed the odd looks the Autobots shot each other.

"Well, we could tell her a partial truth. Say that you got beat up, but not by whom." Fowler said and Jack went over the excuse in his head. His Mother would become even more protective after this, but it was better than saying that he'd been tortured by a giant alien robot.

"That'll work I guess, can you pose as a local cop or something?" Jack asked and Fowler nodded before he ran off to contact his superiors to tell them why he'd never showed up.

"Jack, we will respect your decision if you wish to leave." Optimus said and it was now Jack's turn to avoid looking at Optimus. A sickening feeling swelled up in Jack as he realized how cowardly he must look to the other for running away like this.

Honestly, he was leaving because he hoped it would stop the strange things that were happening to him. He had a feeling that he would understand what the visions meant if he stayed with the Autobots and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. In fact he was determined to ignore the visions completely because they were simply far too horrible to be true.

Jack turned to Miko and Raf. He wasn't sure if they wanted to stay or not, but he wanted them to know that they had a choice. "Are you two staying?" He asked and Jack already knew Miko's answer.

"I'm staying." Miko said as she stomped her foot again.

"I'll be okay Jack." Raf said after he looking up at Bumblebee, though he seemed worried that his answer would upset Jack. Jack laid a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder and smiled down at Raf. Jack understood his reason for staying and if he hadn't been suffering from the visions, Jack felt he probably would have stayed too.

"You better be." Jack growled toward the Autobots and saw some of them flinch, but Optimus simply nodded his head in response. Jack shook himself out of the strangely overprotective feelings he just displayed and turned to Fowler as the man walked towards him.

Ratchet opened up the Ground Bridge and with Fowler's help, Jack staggered down the stairs. Arcee stood in front of him and for a split second, Jack hoped she would try to convince him to stay.

"I know, I know, you don't exist." Jack said before she could speak as he hobbled around her and headed towards the Ground Bridge.

"Don't make me hunt you down." Was the quiet reply that Jack barely heard before leaving the Autobot base.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Please Lord Megatron! I meant no- _**Aaaagggghhh!**_" Starscream shouted as he was yet again hit by the ruler of the Decepticons. Starscream got up to his knees and wiped away the Energon that leaked from his mouth.

"I ordered you to await my command!" Megatron growled as the larger Mech clenched his fists and lashed out at his second in command again. Starscream cried out in pain as he crashed into the floor and slide several feet.

Starscream slowly pushed himself onto his hands and knees.

He hated it when Megatron would beat him like this, but it was even worse to have an audience witness his humiliation. It wasn't unusual for Soundwave to be there as the eyes and ears of the Decepticons was always with his Master. It was the times when the Vehicons were present that Starscream truly hated the most.

He was degraded in front of them and then they went to tell any other Con they saw about it. Probably the only bots who didn't know that he was Megatron's personal punching bag were the Autobots. Blearily, Starscream noticed some sparks erupt from different parts of his body and that usually meant a night in the infirmary.

"Instead your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship and the delay of my plans!" Starscream looked up and hastily pulled himself off the floor and away from Megatron.

He immediately fell onto his backside, the damages Megatron had already inflicted upon him taking their toll and rendering him unable to stand at the moment. Starscream crawled away as he saw Megatron continue to advance toward him, vaguely hoping that his honest explanation might spare him from more pain.

"My intentions _were pure Master._ I only wanted you to be rid of Optimus! _**Gaaahhh!**_" He cried out as Megatron's pede smashed into his upper body and he felt his chassis cave in from the sudden force.

"No one rids me of Optimus Prime, but me! _Do you understand?_ _**Do you?**_" Megatron yelled as he applied more pressure and Starscream felt the heat of more sparks cover his body.

"Lord Megatron… I will make things right, _I swear!_ I know how to set your plans back on course!" Starscream shouted in pain and desperation.

He felt circuits being crushed with every passing second and he feared that his Spark would soon be next. He felt the pressure instantly disappear and he only had a few seconds of relief before Megatron grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Starscream stared up at his torturer in fear as his body shook from the damage his leader had inflicted. He found himself staring at the red optics of his Master and was suddenly reminded of the color that was human blood. Yes, Starscream supposed that it was fitting name for the color of Megatron's optics, blood red.

"Explain Starscream, quickly." Megatron commanded and Starscream saw no reason to disobey this order.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Mom had hugged him for a half an hour after Fowler had dropped him off. She didn't question or suspect that anything was amiss with the excuse Jack and Fowler told her. The cover story was that a gang had jumped Jack for money. He'd refused and they hadn't appreciated his stubbornness.

They had beat him up a little before throwing him through a window, which easily explained the cuts and bruises and he had jumped off a roof to get away from them, hence the injured ankles. In the end, they had stolen his new motorcycle and he had staggered to the nearest police officer he could find.

She had gone to bed not even ten minutes ago and Jack was now in the garage, working on his old ten-speed bicycle. The tinkering calmed him down and helped him focus his thoughts. He didn't know why, but taking things apart and putting them back together was common habit to him. The process felt vaguely familiar and always helped Jack feel better once the job was done.

A car suddenly pulled into the drive way and Jack raised the wrench in his hand up to protect himself. The headlights turned off and Jack realized that it was only Bulkhead and Miko. Miko got out of Bulkhead and Jack went back to working on his bike, trying to ease his suddenly too tense shoulders.

"Now I understand why you had to rush home." Miko said as she walked into the garage.

"Don't you have something more exciting to do, Miko?" Jack asked impassively, hoping she would take the hint and leave. He honestly didn't know her as he'd only met the girl yesterday, but she seemed to have a dangerous thirst for adventure. She was a thrill seeker, the kind of person who got themselves and others in trouble or hurt.

"So this is where you hang, huh? Back home in Tokyo, I have loving parents and two pure breed cats, Chi Chi and Ding Dong. I went to the best school and took piano lessons since I was three." Miko said as she fiddled with something from behind him.

"How nice for you." He responded apathetically.

"No, how boring." He turned to look at her in confusion. That was the sort of life some kids would kill for. Sure it sounded a bit mundane, but that was the kind of life normal people wanted, right?

"It wasn't me. Why do you think I jumped at the chance to transfer here?" Miko asked and Jack scoffed at her.

"To Japer, Nevada? The entertainment capital of the world." He said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, the brochure lied. Piano lessons were starting to look pretty good in fact, but then the last couple of days happened." She said in a burst of energy, her brown eyes shining at him expectantly.

"Do you have a point?" He asked wishing that she would just go. Nothing great happened today, yet Miko acted like it had been the best of her life. Did she not realize that he'd been tortured earlier?

"You bet! You protected me and Raf earlier today. If you hadn't gone with Fowler like you did, we could have been captured by the Cons too." She looked at him with awe and it sickened him.

He was no hero, not after the things he'd done. Images flashed before his eyes, dead Autobots, dead civilians, a dead Mirage. No, he definitely wasn't a hero and he didn't deserve Miko's praise.

"I've been raised to be responsible." He said as he grabbed the wheel he'd been working on and slowly made his way over to his bike. "To my schoolwork, to my Mom, my job." Jack continued as he sat down, because kneeling certainly wasn't an option with his ankle.

"Dude, hear me out. You're not a fry cook, you're a rock star! Stop trying to pretend your normal Jack, you'll never fit in. You were born to do so much more." Miko said, making his insides freeze.

He was normal, or he had been before today anyways, before he'd somehow gotten involved with a war he had no place in.

He was meant to be an average Joe. He would graduate from college, work a normal job, marry a pretty girl, and have a few kids. He wanted what every normal person wanted. The visions he saw today didn't matter, would never matter. He was done with the Autobots and anything else alien.

"Thanks Miko, but I think normal suits me just fine." He said in a harsh voice and Miko grunted in response as she walked out of his garage and got into Bulkhead.

"You know, she's right Jack and for what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't stop Fowler from taking you earlier." Bulkhead said as he pulled out of the driveway and left Jack alone to stare at his bike.

He sat there for several more hours and just thought about what had happened today, about his visions, and about Starscream.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

That chapter was pretty long, just reaching over seven thousand words! Pretty good considering the first chapter was only three thousand five hundred words long.

First off, we need to build Jack and Arcee's relationship. Right now, he's just some pesky kid to her. Once she found him in the brig and saw how tough he was, her opinion changed slightly.

I've decided to have Fowler and Miko fight whenever they meet in the future. They just seem like people who wouldn't get along in real life.

I mentioned that Thundercracker was a Procurer and basically that's Cybertronian for bounty hunter and I'll brush up on more of that in the next chapter. Some of you are probably wondering why Jack hasn't seen any visions of Skywarp yet and that's because Jack hasn't delved deep enough into his visions, their just starting so give it some time people.

Jack leaves the Autobots again, but not for the same reasons on the show. He just wants to ignore the changes that are going on inside of him and being with the Autobots would probably only increase those changes.

I loved how nicely the original dialogue used in Darkness Rising Part 4 fit in at the end of the chapter. Miko telling Jack that he'll never fit in with normal people hit close to home and I just had to use it.

In the next chapter Jack has more visions as more pieces of his previous life comes to light and the Autobots try to stop Megatron from bringing a horde of Cybertronian zombies to Earth.

~Hexalys~


	4. To Lose is To Gain

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

To **Grimlock the King of Stories**, Slipstream will make an appearance in later chapters, but I'm not going to give away how she'll react to Jack/Thundercracker.

As for the plotline, I will be closely following most of the cannon up to episode nineteen, but after that it will diverge from the original storyline. I won't be going into season two at all unless I decide to make a sequel, which is highly unlikely.

Some of you guys have asked if Jack will become a Cybertronian and he will, just not in a way that any of you expect.

Now sweethearts, I present to you the lovely chapter 4, enjoy!

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 4: To Lose is To Gain

…_**"You the new Procurer? You certainly don't look like much." A short and mostly red Mech said as he looked Jack up and down. **_

_**Jack had to bite his tongue so that he couldn't make a retort. He had just started out as a Procurer and it wouldn't be wise to make enemies so soon while having no allies to back him up. **_

_**He especially didn't want to make an enemy out of the Mech in front of him.**_

_**The Mech was old and cranky. He had a reputation for having a short temper and for jumping the gun most of the time, but he was also one of the best Procurers on Cybertron. His name was Gears and he was probably the shortest Mech Jack had yet to meet. As such, it wasn't a surprise that Gears did not like it when another bot made fun of his short build.**_

_**Jack watched as Gears circled him and they both studied each other. Gears had a ground alt mode, one of the speedier models, with a red paint job. His armor was covered in dents and scratches, things that could have easily been buffed away, but instead he'd decided to keep his battle scars. **_

_**Jack could respect that.**_

_**"You're certainly an odd Seeker model, aren't you?" Gears said once he finished his inspection and Jack looked down at his body with pride. While most Seekers were built slim so that they could be fast, he had modified himself. He had added more armor, making him stronger, but this made him a little slower.**_

_**Remodeling oneself was frowned upon though. Many bots thought it disrespectful to change what the Well of the All-Sparks had blessed them with. It was unnatural. However, he needed to become stronger, his new profession demanded it.**_

_**His legs were a deep dark blue as were his arms. His chassis was a dark grey and that same grey was highlighted throughout the rest of his armor. His servos, pedes, and face were a much lighter gray, almost sliver. His helmet looked like the skull of a Cybertronian. The exposed veins glowed a bright Energon blue against the black metal frame.**_

_**"I did what upgrades I needed to." Jack said flatly as he flexed his powerful body slightly, not to show off, but as a warning. Just like Gears, he didn't like it when others insulted his upgraded frame. **_

_**His fierce look put him on the receiving end to many disapproving stares. Many felt the need to look down upon him; like he was a savage compared to them and didn't fit in their civilized society.**_

_**But he had to look dangerous, like somebody that you wouldn't dare mess with. His new position as a Procurer demanded only the strongest and that was what he was. He'd never had the desire to become an Energon Seeker, he was a fighter. He hadn't wanted to become a soldier or a gladiator either. Soldiers took orders from others and he'd never been the kind to follow the rules.**_

_**He could never have been hired as a soldier anyways. His designation was to be an Energon Seeker; he was breaking the law by becoming a Procurer. The reason for why he wasn't being arrested right now was because the Senate didn't care what a third class citizen like him did. **_

_**He could only get work from jobs that were out of the Senate's jurisdiction, namely illegal jobs. **_

_**He, of course, could have worked in the Gladiator Pits, as a combatant he would be paid for every fight he won. A gladiator led the kind of dangerous life that he could enjoy, but he didn't like fighting for the amusement of others.**_

_**A Procurer would give him the freedom a soldier's life couldn't offer and it was more dangerous than fighting in the Gladiator Pits. Another bonus was that he would be exploring space more often than not. While his main occupation was to capture wanted criminals, he also caught alien organisms, and retrieved ancient artifacts.**_

_**"I hate Seekers. They always think they're so much better than the rest of us bots." Gears said as he glared up at Jack and he tried not to glare back. Stereotypes were not uncommon on Cybertron, but Jack could not stand bigotry. "You think a scrapheap like yourself can even last a day in this line of work? Go back home and let the real Mechs handle Procuring." Gears growled and Jack felt the last bit of his control slip away.**_

_**To the Pit with not making enemies.**_

_**"Real Mechs, huh? Then what are you doing here?" He growled at the smaller Mech as he stepped forward to stand over Gears. The Mech had to crane his head up to look him in the optics and Jack smiled as heard Gears growl.**_

_**"You know you got a face that only your Trine could love!" Gears all, but shouted.**_

_**"Humph, I guess the rumors were true, you certainly have a… **__**short**__** fuse." Jack said and smirked in triumph at Gears' furious look**_…

…_**Jack held back a groan as he shifted on the ground. His latest bounty was a Mech designated as Retrace. Retrace was a former gladiator who had just been too much for Jack to handle. He had sent out a distress call once he'd realized there was no way he was going to win, but it looked like he was on his own.**_

_**"You didn't really think that you could beat me, did you Seeker? Your kind wasn't made for fighting." Retrace taunted and Jack growled up at the approaching Mech. He hated it when his kind was put down. Most Cybertronians were of the belief that Seekers were only good for finding Energon or working in some remote Energon harvesting space station.**_

_**"He may not have been enough to beat you, but I think you'll find me to be more than you can handle." A Mech said from behind Retrace. As his enemy turned, Jack saw that his rescuer was Gears, the same bot he had met a week ago.**_

_**Jack watched the fight between Retrace and Gears with hidden awe. Even though Gears was smaller and older, he moved with speed that would have made Starscream jealous.**_

_**Gears soon won his fight and after he tied up Retrace, Jack saw the bot walking over to him. Jack looked up at Gears as he tried to lift himself off the ground, but it was no good. He was too heavily damaged and he doubted he would make it to a medic in time.**_

_**"Well you lasted longer than a day." Gears said as he halted before Jack. Jack's pride suffered a major blow at the Mech's words, but his honor overcame the bitterness he wanted to display.**_

_**"It would seem so. Thank you… for coming to my rescue." Jack said and Gears looked smug. "Now, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you bring my body back to Cybertron?" Jack asked and he saw Gears' confused look.**_

_**"What the Pit are you talking ab- Primus! You're hurt!" Gears shouted as he ran over to Jack and looked at the chassis wound that was leaking Energon. He smiled at the old bot before he retorted.**_

_**"And you're very observant…" He started to chuckle, but stopped once he started to cough up Energon.**_

_**"Slag! Hang on Rookie! Hang on!**_…

…_**"Rookie, get your aft over here now!" Gears shouted as he ducked behind some rocks to avoid the shots that had been aimed at him. Jack moved over to his partner and he smiled as he looked out at the three Mechs who were firing at them.**_

_**They were known as the Betrayers, for they had turned their backs on Primus to follow Unicron. Their leader, a screw-loose Mech named Sideways, lead the Betrayers as he tried to wipe out all Cybertronians. He had taken his small army out into the vastness of space in order to find his Master and revive him.**_

_**"So Short Fuse, what are you going to do with your half of the reward after we turn in Thrust?" Jack asked as he fired at the three Mechs in front of him. They had lucked out as Thrust, one of the Mechs they were fighting, was one of Sideways's most trusted bots and that made him a rather high bounty.**_

_**Gears shot him a glare for using that nickname, again. **_

_**Jack had called Gears Short Fuse since the Mech had saved his life all those years ago. It was now a term of endearment though. Gears too had his own nickname for Jack, though it wasn't very clever and he certainly wasn't a rookie anymore.**_

_**"Well Rookie, I'll probably use it for gambling and getting some high grade Energon. You know, the usual." Gears shouted as he fired a direct hit at the Mech standing to the left of Thrust.**_

_**Jack shook his head fondly at his partners' unhealthy antics. That was what he liked about Gears best though. The simple things in life brought him pleasure.**_

_**"I'll tell you what Short Fuse, how about we both head to the Gladiator Pits after this!" Jack called as he took out the other Mech and charged after a fleeing Thrust.**_

_**"I thought you hated those things?" Gears asked as he shot Thrust out of the air.**_

_**"I don't hate them; it's just that I would never fight in them. I'm not an entertainer, but that doesn't mean that I don't like to be entertained. Besides they got a new combatant, and he's supposed to be really good." Jack said as he put a clamp on a stasis locked Thrust.**_

_**"Really? Who?" Gears asked as he helped Jack drag the Betrayers back to their ship.**_

_**"His designation is D-16." Jack answered**_…

…_**"I heard you and Starscream got caught up in a fight between the Rebels and the Protectors." Gears said as he passed Jack an Energon Cube. Gears had retired from Procuring years ago; his age prevented him from keeping up with his younger partner. **_

_**Jack had yet to take on a new partner since Gears retired.**_

_**"Yeah, I had just brought a decent bounty in and I was going to treat Starscream to a special night on the town. Skywarp couldn't get out of his mandatory flight exercise so it was just the two of us. It must be Unicron's curse." Jack said as he drank from his cube. He paused to enjoy the burning smoothness of his drink.**_

_**Gears gave him an annoyed look before they shared a grin. They had run into Sideways only once a few years and the Mech had said that Jack was cursed by his Master. Now Jack said it was the curse of Unicron whenever something bad happened. Gears had played along at first, but he began to suspect that Jack really was cursed.**_

_**Gears had always been a superstitious Mech.**_

_**"I heard talk that Megatron seems to be interested in Starscream." Gears said and Jack shared a grim look with his old friend. It wasn't so much that Megatron was interested in Starscream, but in Jack.**_

_**"Starscream said he's considered joining the Rebel Forces and I honestly can't say I blame him. The corruption on Cybertron just seems to get worse with each passing day." Jack said as he stared down at his drink to avoid Gears' piercing gaze. If worst came to worst, he knew his old partner would join the Protectors.**_

_**"What'll you do if he does join them?" Gears asked and Jack looked back at him. They both knew that he would do exactly what Megatron wanted.**_

_**"Protect him."**_…

Jack stared at his ceiling in confusion, hadn't he just been talking to Gears? He looked at his surroundings and found himself in his bedroom. He was supposed to be here, he was sure of that, but why did his own room suddenly feel so alien to him?

Jack sighed as he shook his head. It seemed he didn't need Starscream or an Energon prod to have odd visions. As he stared down at his hands an image of familiar metal servos replaced them for a second and he blinked in surprise. He looked back at his hands to make sure that they were still flesh and blood before closed his eyes in despair.

He was losing his mind; it was as simple as that. Maybe the Autobots and Decepticons weren't even real? Maybe he was just having a psychotic breakdown and that everything had just been a delusion?

He went to stand up, but the sudden pain in his ankle reminded him that everything was real. He had met aliens, he had been tortured, and he'd once been an alien himself.

Primus help him!

Jack just continued to sit on his bed as he thought about the things he had discovered about who he'd once been. He had been a Seeker, a remodeled one. He had been a Procurer, a bounty hunter, and had loved his job. His partner and teacher had been a grumpy bot named Gears, but who he had called Short Fuse.

He had loved fighting and the taste of high grade Energon. He had been close to Starscream and another bot named Skywarp, but Jack didn't know how close he was to Starscream. Had they been best friends or had Starscream just been somebody to hang out with?

More importantly though, was that he'd been a Decepticon.

Jack shuddered at the memory of getting the Decepticon insignia on his chest, just like Starscream before him. The only good thing that Jack remembered from that vision was that he hadn't felt happy nor proud to bare the mark. There had only been a steely resolve to do what he must. Jack just didn't know what it was that he'd decided to do.

"Jack, honey? Are you up yet?" Jack heard his Mom say and he was brought out of his thoughts. He looked over at his alarm clock and found that it was nine o'clock. He was late for school!

He was already taking off his shirt when he realized that today was a Saturday. He had to go to work in a few hours; well maybe he would go to work in a few hours. Hopefully his ankle wouldn't stop him from working.

"Yeah Mom, I'm up." Jack called as he put on fresh clothes and headed for the kitchen. He found his Mom fixing breakfast, which was unusual. She usually didn't have time to make him breakfast, ever. Not that he was complaining, breakfast and lunch were the only meal times that he could avoid her tofu themed entrees.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you had the early shift on Saturdays." He said as he started to peel an orange, foregoing to mention that she had the early shift every day, as well as the late shift every night.

"Well I got someone to cover for me, but I won't be home until late tonight." She said as she placed tofu waffles in front of him. Ugh, he was going to need a lot of syrup.

"Okay, but why did you want the morning shift off?" He asked as she sat down with her own plate.

"To spend time with you." She said simply and he smiled at her.

"I love you Mom." He said and she gave him a watery smile. Last night had been a reminder to them both that terrible things could happen at any moment. She grabbed his hand gently before they returned to their meal.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack grunted in pain and relief as he pulled into the K.O. Burger parking lot. Riding a pedal-bike with a busted ankle was a painful mode of transportation. As he moved over to his building, he struggled not to put any weight on to his foot.

He'd decided to forego his crutches, hoping to look less injured than he was. He didn't want to lose his job because of his latest adventure. He was still bruised and most of his upper body was wrapped in gauze, but hopefully it wouldn't impede his work.

As he went to step over the curb, he lost his balance and instinctively moved to put his weight onto his other foot. He let out a cry of pain and immediately brought his foot off the ground. Knowing that he was going to fall, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable pain he would feel as he started to fall back towards the pavement. Before he could hit the ground though, he hit something metal first.

"Why are you walking around without your crutches?" Arcee yelled and he looked down at her in surprise. He stood and righted himself before he mumbled a thank you to her.

"Look Arcee, thanks for he save and all, but Miko tried last night. Tell Optimus that I respect him big time, but if you're at war with the Decepticons then there's nothing that I can do to help." He said as he turned to look away from her.

He was a Decepticon, or at least he had been. He really didn't know himself well enough to know that he wouldn't betray the Autobots in the future. He suddenly realized that this was the reason for why he wanted to stop the visions. He didn't want to wake up one morning and find himself to be a bad person. He didn't want to end up like his Father; he just wanted to be Jack.

"Optimus didn't say anything and no one's asking for your help."

"Okay, so if we both agree I'm not warrior material…" He trailed off as he looked away from her again. He was a warrior; even now he was tempted to rejoin the Autobots just so that he could get some action. He looked back at K.O. Burger and grimaced, was he really ready to spend his days flipping burgers over fighting?

After that thought, Jack realized he was already changing. It seemed trying to stop the changes from happening was hopeless.

"Jack, I just lost someone I care about. Maybe it's the grief talking, maybe you're growing on me. Whatever it is, I'm just not ready to say goodbye." Arcee said and Jack knew she meant it.

He looked at her, studied her. He didn't know if Gears was dead, but what if he was and he just hadn't remembered yet?

Jack stared at the ground as he thought about his former partner. Gears had been important to him, like a Father to him. He blinked back tears and for the first time since his visions had started he wished to know what had happened in the past. He wanted to know what had happened to Gears.

Was he still alive out there? Wandering the stars like the Autobots had done before they had found Earth or had he died long ago in a battle on Cybertron?

Slowly, he walked over to Arcee and sat down. He wrapped his hands tightly around her handle bars and squeezed. He was starting to feel an aching loss that had always been there, just waiting to be realized.

"I lost someone too." Jack said as he looked at her right side view mirror. It was true, he knew that Mirage was gone and he didn't doubt that he'd lost other friends, maybe family, to the war. Only time could tell and even though he knew it was going to be painful, he wanted to remember the bots that had been important to him. "Maybe, I'm not ready to say goodbye either." He muttered as her engine turned on.

"Then let's head back to base partner." Arcee said and Jack smiled fondly at the idea of having another partner.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

As they pulled into the base Jack noticed that the other bots were getting ready to leave. A sudden nervousness wiggled in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't thought about how the Autobots would react to his coming back. He looked up at Optimus and gave an uncertain smile.

"Hey, guess whose back." He said and was relieved to see a slight smile on Optimus's face. He let out a breath he'd been holding and really smiled at the leader of the Autobots.

"Autobots, prepare for departure." Optimus commanded and Jack's smiled disappeared as he turned to look up at Arcee.

"Where to?" Arcee asked and Jack noticed Miko walk over to him.

"The final frontier." She answered and Jack looked at her in surprise.

"Space? I thought they didn't have any way to get there?" He asked and saw Bumblebee place Raf onto the floor.

"Well, they don't, not really." The young boy said and Jack was glad to see both of the kids unharmed, but then again he'd only been gone a day.

"Doesn't the Ground Bridge have limited range? Stretched all the way out to orbit could cause it to snap and scatter you guys across the universe." He said to Optimus and noticed the sharp glance he got from Ratchet.

He wondered why Ratchet was suddenly looking at him like he had two heads until he realized that what he said was something only a Cybertronian could know, certainly not a human boy.

Jack didn't know if he wanted the Autobots to know about his visions though. If he did tell someone, it would probably be Optimus. He knew how much Arcee hated Cons, so telling her would hurt more than help and he didn't know the other bots well enough to know how they'd react. Optimus seemed to be the most understanding.

"How could you possible know that?" Ratchet mumbled as he handed Jack the metal crutches that he'd left at the base. Jack looked up at the medic as he accepted them.

"Well, it's called a Ground Bridge for a reason right? It's only supposed to be used where there's ground." He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He saw Ratchet shoot him a suspicious look, but the medic seemed to be satisfied with his answer, for now anyways. He'd have to watch what he would say in the future. Jack looked up at Arcee and shrugged at her.

"Be seeing ya?" He asked and she gave a slight nod as she walked over to stand with the other bots as Ratchet activated the Ground Bridge. Jack watched the kids say goodbye to their guardians and he shot another worried look at Arcee. She had better come back.

"Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teeming with humans, I will never forgive you." Ratchet said.

"Until we meet again, old friend. Autobots, roll out!" Optimus commanded as he and his men transformed. Jack watched them drive into the Bridge and hoped their mission would not end in failure.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack stood off to the side as Ratchet explained to Raf and Miko why the Decepticons would be unable to use the Space Bridge without their navigation dish. Jack wasn't buying it though. Even though Megatron may have lost one way to execute his plan, it didn't mean that the Decepticons didn't have a backup.

As Optimus said Jack's thoughts out loud, he saw Raf move to his laptop. Curious, Jack moved over to see what the younger boy was doing and barely heard Ratchet express his great disbelief that Earth had the kind of technology that the Decepticons needed.

"What about a whole bunch of linked radio telescope dishes, like the giant size A-ray in Texas?" Raf asked and Jack nodded his head. The combined power of frequency from those dishes would be able to do the job.

"Zip tab bab dat! This is not child's play." Ratchet said as he leaned towards them and made a "zip it" motion. Jack noticed the other kids flinch, but he hadn't moved a muscle.

He almost glared up at the stubborn Mech; Raf knew what he was talking about.

"Good thinking Raf. Ratchet contact Agent Fowler to alert the A-ray staff to the security standard." Optimus commanded and Jack almost laughed at Ratchet's surprised face. Once Ratchet called Fowler to tell him about the situation, it only took the man a few minutes before he called back with some bad news.

"Ratchet there's nobody at the base. I don't know where those men are, but the Cons have already locked the place down. We can't get them out of the system. We'll keep trying to override them, but it doesn't look good, Fowler out." Ratchet nodded his head grimly.

"I can't get past the raised fire walls, they're too thick." Raf said as he slammed his hands onto the table.

"You actually think you can keep the Decepticons out?" Ratchet asked in amusement and Jack shook his head at the old bot. Raf had already proven that he wasn't average when it came to computers, so why did Ratchet keep expecting so little from the younger boy?

"Maybe, if I could get in." Raf said and Jack shot his head up as he got an idea.

"Wait, Raf, what if we could get you all the way in? Like inside the building in." He asked as he placed his hand on the younger boy's shoulder. His blood was already pumping with the thought about actually doing something, something that helped.

"I could log into their internal network on the other side of the fire wall." Raf said and Jack smiled at the computer screen in triumph.

"The risk is too great. The Decepticons will be there, perhaps even on site." Optimus said and Jack stared down at the floor on thought. He could do this, even if there was a Decepticon there.

They had to do this.

"Optimus, with all due respect, you said it yourself. This is bigger than the safety of three humans." Jack said and Miko took it up from there.

"Yeah, if we let the Cons win; we're fragged, along with everyone else on our planet." She said.

"Raf?" Optimus asked and Jack turned to look at the small boy.

"I want to give it a shot." Raf said and Jack smiled down at the boy.

"You don't have to worry about them Optimus; I'll take care of them." He said in a hard tone and heard Miko snort from behind him. He looked over at Raf and the small boy looked up at him in some sort of awe that Jack couldn't understand. With the crutches he knew he certainly didn't look capable of protecting anyone, but he would do his best.

Ratchet sighed as he activated the Ground Bridge and Jack lead the other kids through the portal. Once they reached their destination, Jack had to jump down slightly and he noticed the other kids looked nauseas from the Ground Bridge's affects.

"Yeah, it takes some getting use too." It didn't bother him at all and he suspected it was because he'd done it often enough in his last life. He looked at the building and with a quick nod to the others, they went inside. Raf had downloaded the schematics for the building so they quickly found the room they needed and Raf started to hack.

"I'm in, and so are the Decepticons." Raf said and Jack just nodded his head.

"How can you tell?" Miko asked and Raf brought up some Cybertronian equations.

"Schematics with the same alien math we saw on their ship, but this time I can download it." Raf said as he stuck his hard drive into the computer.

"It's gotta be the Space Bridge." Miko said and Jack simply nodded his head in agreement.

"The Decepticons are syncing it to the dishes, but I can sync to them." Raf said as he started to type furiously.

"They'll know." Jack said simply. He knew from his visions that Starscream was smart, he would notice.

"Even if the Decepticons see that I'm in the system, they'll have no idea I'm in the house." Raf answered back, but it did little to ease Jack's worries. "They're locked onto Cybertron, but not for long."

Not even a few seconds later, the dishes moved back to Cybertron and Raf went to undo it once more. Jack didn't need any confirmation that the Decepticons were onto them now and he could only wait until they made their next move. Hopefully this battle would only be virtual. Jack heard a slight noise and turned to look behind him to see a giant tentacle.

Okay, not so virtual then.

As it lunged at him Jack shouted out a warning to the others and used his crutch to hit the limb that belonged to Soundwave. He didn't know how he knew, he was just grateful that he wasn't having a vision to distract him at the moment.

His strike did little to the Cybertronian limb and it quickly grabbed him and Miko before it flung them both at the wall. Jack groaned at the sudden onslaught of pain that his ankle was going through and noticed Raf just barely avoid from getting hit as the tentacle took out the computer. As he got up to move to Raf, he saw Miko run at the tentacle with an axe. It knocked her against the wall and stole the weapon she had been using.

"You handed it an axe!" He shouted in disbelief and he heard Raf say a quiet not good. As it raised the axe Jack was prepared to move, whether to dodge or to save the others. He noticed it retreat as the other two flinched and Jack chased after it, ignoring the excruciating amount of pain he felt in his foot. "Stay here!" He shouted to them as he followed the tentacle back to Soundwave.

He saw Soundwave getting ready to leave and he turned back to look at him. Jack heard a click from Soundwave, and he knew that the Con had just taken a picture of him, not that he needed to.

Jack doubted Starscream had forgotten about him, but at least Raf and Miko weren't in the picture as well. He didn't want the Cons to have documentation about the kids. As Soundwave flew off Jack noticed Raf move over to the power lines that Soundwave had cut.

"Why's he leaving?" Miko asked from behind Jack.

"He cut the hard line. The dishes are locked unto Cybertron, for good." Raf said sadly as he looked up at them and Jack sighed. It looked like their only hope was the Autobots now.

He looked down at his hands and couldn't believe how disgusted with himself he suddenly felt. Had he not been human and Cybertronian instead, he could have done something more.

"Miko, call Ratchet for a Ground Bridge. We're done here." He said in a harsh tone that made Raf and Miko flinch.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack paced the walkway and ignored the worried looks everyone was sending him. Agent Fowler had shown up not too long ago and the Autobots had saved the day, but at a cost.

Being unable to shut down the Space Bridge after Megatron had launched the Dark Energon at Cybertron had left the Autobots with only one option, the destruction of the Space Bridge. They could never go home now; he could never go home now. Once Ratchet had said they could never go back, Jack had felt such a loss for the home he had only just started to remember.

Arcee had been able to reverse the current to the Bridge, causing its destruction, but now Ratchet was saying that someone had been hurt and Jack had a gut feeling that it was her. He was not going to lose his partner, not this one.

At least one good thing came out of the destruction of the space bridge, Megatron was dead.

Jack couldn't help, but let out a bitter smile at the news of the Decepticons death. He hated Megatron, though he didn't know why and it didn't really matter now. With Megatron's demise, Jack felt at ease.

He turned to the portal as he saw Optimus come through and made his way down the stairs as fast as he could with his crutch. As Bulkhead appeared, Jack knew his gut instinct was right. He ran up to Bumblebee, who held an unconscious Arcee. His mind flashed memory after memory of those that he saw die and images flew by so fast that he couldn't even distinguish the different bots.

"Arcee?" He asked quietly as he placed his hand onto her servo.

"Jack, really? There are other motorcycles in the world." She said quietly as she looked down at him and he smiled up at her.

"True, but I could never find a better partner." He said and she smiled back at him.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Decepticons, it is with deep sorrow that I note for the log, Megatron's spark has been extinguished." The silver Seeker said to the Cons that surrounded him.

Megatron had been a fool and finally it was his time, his moment to rule, as it was always meant to be.

"All hail Starscream."

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Thundercracker's color scheme is based off of Jack's clothes. He looks similar to Starscream, but think more armor, different colors, and a different helmet. I said Thundercracker's helmet looks like the skull of Cybertronian. The image I wanted looks similar to a human's skull, but make it black with glowing blue veins on it, like the circuitry on a microchip. I hope that makes the image of what he looked like clearer.

I took Thundercracker's colors from the clothes that Jack wears. The blue is the same color as his jeans. The dark grey throughout his armor is the same as his t-shirt. His face, hands, and feet are the same color as his long-sleeved shirt. His black hair is the same color as his helmet and his optics match his blue eyes.

When every bot is created, they are given a job by the Senate that they must do. Thundercracker refused to do a job he didn't want and became a Procurer. While it's true that it's illegal to change ones designation, the higher class could care less about what the lower classes did, so long as it didn't intrude onto their lives.

The Gladiator Pits are equivalent to the coliseum of Ancient Rome. Even though the Gladiator Pits were illegal and public knowledge, the corrupt Senate did not close it down because the made money off of the Pits.

I wanted Thundercracker to be taught by the best, and the best are usually the older ones. Gears was always a favorite of mine from the G1 series and when I think of an old war hardened bot I see him.

Retrace is my original character.

I made up the Betrayers, and Sideways is still around. No doubt the leader of Unicron cult would find his way to Earth. I always hated Sideways and I thought it would be best to throw in a villain who only Thundercracker had a history with.

~Hexalys~


	5. Masters and Students

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated this story in such a long time, but I sort of lost my inspiration for a little while. Anyway I'm having trouble on deciding two things that I'm gonna have you guys vote on:

Poll #1: Should I bring Gears to Earth or not?

1. Yes

2. No

Poll #2: Which Autobot should Jack tell his secret as being a former Decepticon to?

1. Optimus Prime

2. Ratchet

3. Optimus and Ratchet

I don't want Jack to tell Arcee yet, I'm saving her reaction for later because there will be a lot of drama and feels when that time comes. Optimus is the safest Autobot to tell because he's all about second chances and what not. Ratchet would cause a scene, but not one nearly as big as Arcee. Plus, Ratchet is really cool.

Ah yes, a new chapter, perhaps you should read it and then review? You know, for the good of your health…

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 5: Masters and Students

"Such a shame, but I applaud you Megatron. You certainly made a grand exit." Starscream said as he watched the recording of his former master's demise. He simply couldn't believe that he was finally free, that he was now ruler of the Decepticons.

Too bad the rest of his faction shared that same disbelief.

Starscream heard the sonar like sound Soundwave was found of emitting from behind him and turned to see the Communications Officer approach _him_, Starscream, Lord and Master of the Decepticons. '_Oh, that has such a nice ring to it._'

"Ah Soundwave, cue the audio visual, I wish to address the troops." Starscream commanded and he was pleased to see that Soundwave didn't hesitate to obey the order. '_Good, perhaps gaining his loyalty will not be as hard as I originally assumed._' Starscream thought before turning to the monitor, forcing a dejected look onto his face.

"The loss of Megatron, leader of the great Decepticon uprising, is certainly a blow to our cause. Yet we mustn't despair over his tragic demise, but instead embrace his ultimate sacrifice and build upon the foundation he laid with an even mightier hand." Starscream said secretly gagging on the words he'd come up with a very long time ago, a speech that he'd been eagerly awaiting to use for centuries.

"With all due respect, Commander, eh… Lord Starscream?" A Vehicon asked standing just a bit a ways from the raised platform Starscream was on.

"Yes, yes, what is it?" He asked in an annoyed tone, wondering if the Vehicon was going to challenge his claim as leader.

"If we failed to conquer Earth under Lord Megatron's command, what hope do we have now that the Autobots defend it?" The Vehicon questioned and Starscream huffed in annoyance before he answered.

"Allow me to be crystal clear, I studied for a millennia under our former Master thus I am equipped to lead you. I, Megatron's true heir, Lord Starscream, Emperor of Destruction!" He shouted only to be greeted by the Vehicons' confused mutterings.

"What? Argh, what use are troops who can't rise to the task of inflicting unspeakable destruction in my name? But wait, legend tells of one capable warrior, one who exists here on this very planet. One who can be student to my Master." Starscream said out loud to himself as he walked off of the bridge with Soundwave dutifully following him.

He remembered the day he'd discovered Skyquake's signal well over an Earth year ago. He had not told Megatron for fear that Skyquake would claim his position as Air Commander and Starscream had not wanted to give Megatron a reason to be rid of him.

He could remember a few of the war stories Thundercracker had told him about Skyquake, he'd said that the Mech had been very loyal to Megatron, too loyal. He still recalled how his brother would gripe about how Skyquake wouldn't think for himself unless he was told to by Megatron. Starscream had never had the chance to meet with Skyquake as the Mech had been sent off world by Megatron to protect their Energon stockpile.

With Megatron's destruction, Skyquake would naturally follow the Decepticon's next Lord and Master.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Compensation, it was Jack's new favorite word.

He gave out a loud whoop as Fowler did another barrel roll through the sky in the fighter jet they were riding in. The older man had been an Army Ranger back in his heyday, but his love for serving his country eventually led him to becoming one of the nation's most experienced pilots. Jack could honestly admit that Fowler was an excellent flier and he wondered if the man had been a Seeker in a past life.

It turned out that when Agent Fowler reported his and Jack's incarceration with the Decepticons to his superiors, they were less than thrilled to know that the Autobots existence was now a secret they shared with a sixteen year old civilian. Agent Fowler had thought it was best to not let them know about Raf and Miko just yet, which everyone else agreed to.

Fowler had said that his superiors had wanted to meet Jack; through a video conference. The discussion happened two days ago and Jack was still reeling from the things he had gained from that conversation.

"_Okay Jack, let me introduce you to Generals Bryce, Welker, Cullen and Kline. Sirs, this is Jackson Darby, the uh, civilian interrogated by the Decepticon Starscream." Agent Fowler said while standing next to a somewhat nervous Jack._

_The military men Jack was observing weren't very impressive looking; in fact most of them seemed to be well past their prime. Even if they had been sterner looking Jack doubted he would have felt very intimidated. After the past few days Jack had been having, he doubted he would ever be afraid of another human being again. _

_It wasn't because Jack didn't think they could be harmful or daunting, it was just that he simply remembered more frightening things._

_The five Generals stared at Jack through their side of the screen and he tried not to fidget under their gaze. They weren't frightening, true, but they were powerful in their own ways. And Jack could clearly remember that he'd never had a good relationship with the military in his past life._

_Fowler had told them only two days ago in detail about Jack's interrogation, which had happened four days ago. Reports of his injuries had been made and the decision about what to do now fell upon their shoulders, something some of the Autobots weren't too happy about._

_Bulkhead, surprising, was the firmest in his arguments about involving the Generals. He'd said that the Cons were an Autobot problem, not a human one and that they should be the ones to decide how they would handle things with Jack._

_Jack didn't really understand what needed to be handled. Yes he'd been kidnapped by the Cons, and yes he'd been tortured, but that was over now. What was there to discuss? _

_He'd already told the Autobots and Agent Fowler what happened in the brig, excluding his memories or the fact that he'd once been a Decepticon, and the cover story had worked out well. Agent Fowler had shown up at the Darby residence the day after Jack had been supposedly attacked by a street gang to return his stolen motorcycle._

_Most of his injuries had healed, though some of his larger cuts were just in the scabbing stages and Jack still required the use of a crutch for his healing ankle. All in all, Jack was doing better and the only thing he wanted to do now was put the whole fiasco behind him._

"_Mr. Darby, it's nice to finally meet you, we've read a lot about you." General Kline started off with warmly enough, though Jack was slightly worried about what they might have found out about him. While he had a clean record, his Father's ledger was practically covered in blood._

"_How are you son?" General Cullen asked. The man's voice was deep and caring; it reminded Jack a bit of Optimus. He looked over at the Autobot leader and saw the Prime staring hard at the screen. In fact, all of the Autobots were watching the scene before them intently. They stood out of the Generals' visions, but to Jack they seemed ready to make their presence known should they need to._

"_I'm fine sir." Jack replied dully. That question had been asked so many times that Jack's response had become second nature. His Mother, true to his predictions, had started to treat him like he was made out of glass. _

_The truth was, physically Jack felt fine, yet mentally he was anything but fine. Memories of his former existence invaded his life almost constantly now. He was recalling things at an astonishing rate, and he sometimes did not like what he saw. _

_Most of his memories were simple facts, like the teachings of Primus and how to pilot an MBN-Class 3 Stellar Fighter Spaceship. Others were memories from the war, things Jack wanted nothing more than to block from his mind._

_He'd yet to find out his name, oddly enough. The Vehicons addressed him as sir while other bots called him T.C. and Jack was sure those two letters were a nickname, not his real name. He'd even had a few more visions about Starscream, who appeared to be quite the science wiz._

_The memories left Jack feeling dazed and confused. Society itself now made Jack feel… uncomfortable. It was like he suddenly found himself in a new environment and he didn't feel as natural in his own skin as he used to. Everyday interactions and situations became harder for him to handle and Jack sometimes second guessed himself on how he was supposed to react._

_The memories not only flooded his dreams, but his daytime as well. He would suddenly get visions while in class or at home. Strangely enough, they stopped when he was with the Autobots, when he felt comfortable again._

_Jack also knew that he was changing. Things that had seemed important no longer were, he no longer cared about his lack of popularity nor did he care much for his schoolwork anymore. That may be because the lessons he was learning were no longer that hard to understand. The memories were defiantly affecting Jack's IQ._

_He found his patience with his everyday life to be almost nonexistent. The life of Jackson Darby was not suitable for T.C. the former Decepticon. He was on edge and even though being with the Autobots was great, Jack had yet to do anything exciting since Megatron's demise. His existence was simply too boring now and he needed to change that before he did something stupid._

"_Tell me Mr. Darby, when was the last time you saw your Father, James Rippers?" General Welker said his tone dark and firm. The man's question and tone sent a shiver of unease down Jack's spine. He knew his Father was going to be brought up at some point during the conversation, but they didn't even bother with foreplay._

"_I haven't seen or heard from my Father in four years." Jack said acidly, his own tone making the others shift uncomfortably. If there was one thing Jack hated in this world, besides Megatron, it was his vile Father. "I don't see what he has to do with this matter anyways."_

"_Your Father is not involved, right Frank?" Cullen said in a stern tone and General Welker nodded his head reluctantly. "We understand that you've had a rough couple of days son, but can you tell us exactly what you went through approximately four days ago?"_

_Jack sighed before he repeated what had happened to him while on board the Nemesis. His words came out flat and he could tell that his passiveness unsettled a few of the Generals, but Jack continued to speak that way. He honestly didn't have any negative feelings about his brief torture and besides, it wasn't as bad as it could have been._

_Jack was just thankful that Airachnid hadn't been the one to interrogate him, that femme was a few circuits short of a full processor. _

"_And none of this bothers you Mr. Darby?" General Bryce questioned uncertainly. Jack breathed heavily through his nose. No, because he was fine, hadn't he already said that? Jack supposed that if he had been a normal sixteen year old boy, then he would have been far from okay. He wasn't normal though. _

"_You said you read up on me, which of course led you to my Father. If you read those reports thoroughly, then you can understand why being tortured wouldn't phase me in the slightest." Jack said gruffly noticing the curious looks the Autobots sent him._

"_I read those reports very thoroughly __**Mr.**__**Rippers**__ and nowhere in those files did they say that you were the one who was harmed. Indeed, your Father never intended to harm you. You were supposed to pick up where he left off, correct? Make it a family business?" Welker's snide tone bit into Jack hard, making him cringe as he heard a name he hadn't used since he was twelve years old._

"_Don't. Call. Me. That." Jack said his tone cold and frightening. "I haven't used my Fathers' last name since the day I called the police on him, or did you not get to that part yet? I am not my Father and while it's true he never hurt me physically, he left me with many scars to bare." _

_Silence permeated the Autobot base and Jack could see the others change their stances, unsure about whether to put an end to the conversation or not. Jack saw General Welker's mouth open and he prayed someone would shut the man up before he said something Jack wasn't ready for the Autobots to know about yet._

"_Enough Frank, he's proven that he is nothing like his Father by his actions, so leave the boy alone." General Cullen said, his voice harsh, leaving no room for argument. _

"_Yes, well, we've gone off topic. Mr. Darby for suffering injuries while protecting your country and its secrets we've decided to compensate you for your actions. A total of five hundred thousand dollars has been wired into a new account for you as well as government clearance to be a part of the Autobot Secrecy Program. Do you find these terms acceptable?" General Kline asked. Jack inwardly gapped at the amount of money he'd just been offered and all he had to do was agree to keep his mouth shut about the Autobots. _

"_What does the government clearance entail exactly?" He asked, not showing anyone how pleased he was with the governments hand at bribery._

"_It simply means that even though you are a civilian, you will be allowed to continue interacting with the Autobots. Your clearance level will also grant you asylum in any government base, should you need it." General Bryce explained._

"_Hmmm, it seems fine to me, but I want one other thing." Jack replied and he smirked as he saw Welker's jaw clench._

"_And that would be…" _

"_I want a ride in a fighter plane with Agent Fowler." Jack said with a grin, he missed the skies dearly._

So there Jack was, diving through the air at supersonic speed, finally feeling normal once again. The Autobots had been curious about Jack's Father, but none of them had yet to approach him about the subject for which Jack was grateful for.

Raf and Miko were back at the Autobot base working on their science projects. Jack had the foresight to pay for a mechanic to fix the busted up motorcycle the school had lent him, making sure to pay attention and take notes as the mechanic explained what he was doing.

Yes, Jack supposed he cheated, but he found he really couldn't care. The job got done, he'd paid the mechanic and in the end he would get an A on the project, that's all that mattered. The sad fact was, Jack was sure he was supposed to feel guilty about his decision and should have been disappointed with himself for taking the easy way out.

Instead he felt proud about his decision as he would reap the rewards without having done any of the work. He knew that was T.C.'s way of thinking, not Jack Darby's. Jack was losing who he was now to who he used to be and he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not. In either case, there was no stopping these changes from happening, so Jack tried to not worry about it. He simply went with the flow.

"Hang on Jack, I'm about to put this jet through a corkscrew." Agent Fowler warned before Jack felt the familiar sensation of twisting through the air…

…"_**Come on Skywarp, is that the best you can do? You'll never make it into the Energon Seekers program if you can't do some simple aerial maneuvers." Jack shouted as he watched Skywarp almost lose control of the corkscrew interchange he was in.**_

"_**Shut the frag up T.C.! I almost had it till you're fried vocalizer made me lose my focus!" Skywarp shouted back and Jack resisted the urge to shoot the black and silver Seeker out of the sky.**_

"_**Distractions happen in the field all the time, besides my yelling is nothing compared to how your drill sergeant is going to sound. If you want to be an Energon Seeker, you'll have to pass the Academy trials first." Jack yelled back as Skywarp attempted to perform a deep dive without stalling.**_

"_**I swear, sometimes I think Skywarp was created with two left wings." Starscream muttered from behind Jack. Jack barley refrained from adding a comment of his own as Skywarp tumbled ungraceful from his latest corkscrew attempt. **_

"_**If it's so fragging easy than why don't you do it Screamer? Oh that's right, I forgot, you're nothing but a glitch with a fried processor who thinks that his calling in life is to study useless organic stuff!" Skywarp shouted over his comlink.**_

_**Jack didn't bother to resist his urges this time and sent a shot up at the irate flying Seeker. He heard Skywarp let out a surprised squawk before the jet landed in front of him and transformed into a very angry Skywarp.**_

"_**What the frag was that for T.C.? You could have hit me!" Skywarp shouted into Jack's face or at least attempted too. Jack towered over Skywarp by a few feet, mainly because of the modifications he'd made to himself. **_

_**Skywarp was as tall as Starscream and looked almost exactly like him with a few modifications. Like Starscream, Skywarp was mostly silver, but with black and purple highlights instead of Starscream's blue and red. Skywarp's jaw line was shorter than Starscream's with more angles to it and instead of one spike on his head; Skywarp had two, taking the shape of a large V. **_

_**Jack simple gestured towards Starscream who was looking down at the ground, hiding the latest damage done to his body from them. Jack knew he was not the brightest Sun in the universe, but he was no idiot. He had known about Starscream's damaged face by the way the Seeker had refused to look at him, preferring to keep the wound hidden by facing in the opposite direction. **_

"_**Oh Screamer, not again…" Skywarp mumbled sadly and Starscream finally lifted his head up. Jack growled at the deep gashes and dented metal that was the right side of Starscream's face. He mentally cursed those fools at the University a thousand times over.**_

_**A Seeker was programed to become only one thing, an Energon Scout. Rarely did a Seeker become anything else unless he showed great aptitude in another area. Starscream was one of those special Seekers; he was brilliant in every sense of the word. He had petitioned the Senate to let him study at the Iacon University to become a scientist and after acing their aptitude test, Starscream had been accepted, to a certain point.**_

_**Most of Starscream's peers and teachers felt like he didn't belong at their University, that he somehow must have cheated his way into their ranks. At first, their bullying hadn't been too severe, but it had escalated quickly when they realized Starscream wasn't leaving anytime soon.**_

_**More than once Jack had offered to go up to that University to teach them some manners, but Starscream insisted he could handle it on his own. Plus, if Jack did go up there and rearrange some grills like he planned to, then they had a plausible excuse to kick Starscream out of the program.**_

"_**It's alright Warp, I'm fine." Starscream said flippantly. Starscream had always been a rather proud Mech and Jack knew the silver Seeker especially hated to look weak in front of him.**_

"_**Scrap, I'm sorry Screamer. You know I'm really proud of you for being an egg head right?" Skywarp said as he laid a clawed servo onto Starscream's shoulder. Jack saw Starscream smile briefly before he grimaced in pain because of his injuries.**_

"_**I'm not sure whether that was an apology or an insult?" Starscream said before he chuckled along with Skywarp who was now animatedly talking about a prank Starscream could pull on his attackers.**_

_**Jack stood back away from the two, like he always did when he watched them interact, and smiled slightly…**_

…Jack gasped loudly as he was brought out of his memories by the sharp turn Fowler made. Jack had visions of Skywarp before, but the Seeker had only been mentioned or seen briefly. He wondered why he'd been training the Seeker in the first place and why had Starscream been there with them? Were Skywarp and Starscream brothers? They certainly looked it.

"You okay back there Jack?" Agent Fowler asked bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine, you just surprised with that last turn. This is really great Agent Fowler, thanks for the ride." Jack said, honestly grateful to be up in the air once more.

"You can drop the title Jack and it's no trouble at all. It actually gave me an excuse to get away from my paperwork. Plus it's nice to see someone else enjoy this as much as I do, though you didn't seem like the flying type in that helicopter a few days ago." Fowler said as he pulled the plane upwards, dodging a large stone pillar.

"Helicopters just aren't my thing I guess." Jack replied with a shrug, though the older man couldn't see it. The truth was that he'd been just Jack Darby at the time, not a Cybertronian who'd been built for flying.

"Tango 6-Alpha to Central Command, we're picking up transmissions originating from unidentified technology, possibly hostile. We are moving in to investigate." A voice broke out from the radio.

"Negative Tango 6-Alpha, this is Special Agent William Fowler intercepting. Strike your report from the record and provide origin coordinates, I'll take it from here." Fowler said before shutting off his radio. "Well kid, you ready to see what the bots have gotten themselves into this time?"

"Alright, but you'll owe me another ride."

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

As Starscream broke past Earth's orbit, he resisted the urge to growl in frustration. His plans to have Skyquake become his loyal second in command no longer seemed like a possibility; the fool was far too wrapped up in the past to pay attention to the present.

It seemed Thundercracker's exaggerations of Skyquake had actually been one hundred percent correct, however, once Skyquake kills Optimus Prime, the Decepticon troops would see that he, Starscream, was perfectly capable of leading their faction.

As he approached the ground zero site of the Space Bridge explosion, Starscream transformed and landed on one of the larger pieces of floating debris.

"No one could have survived this." Starscream exclaimed as he looked at the wreckage surrounding him. "As I suspected, faulty sensors; the last thing I need now are rumors that Megatron is still-" Starscream cut himself off in surprise as a pained groan echoed through the rubble. Sure enough Starscream spotted the figure of Megatron floating among the rocks and destroyed metals.

"Megatron." He said in disbelief as he reached the leader of the Decepticons. His touch must have awakened his Master, for the larger Mech awoke, gripping his shoulder painfully as he glared at Starscream before once again entering stasis.

"But how?" Starscream growled at the injured, but most certainly alive Mech. How could Megatron survive such a close range explosion? '_It defies all logic!_'

Suddenly Starscream spotted bright purple glow pulsing from the chamber that usually housed a Cybertronians Spark.

"Of course, Dark Energon…" Starscream said before he leaned forward slightly to speak directly into his Master's audible relay sensors. "Everyone believes you are deceased, who am I to disappoint them, Master." He said smugly as he reached for the Energon shard stuck in Megatron's chest.

Finally, after all the years of servitude, of humiliation, he was ending it. Ending the life of Megatron, a pity his Master would never see him destroy the Autobots and claim the universe as his own. '_I would have enjoyed rubbing that into your face Megatron._' As the shard left Megatron's spark chamber, he watched the older Mech awaken and reach out towards him before stasis claimed him once again, permanently.

"And this time, stay dead." Starscream called as he pushed Megatron's frame away from him, gleefully watching as the body seemed to blend in perfectly with the rubble adjoining it. His glee quickly turned to dread as he heard the familiar sound of Soundwave's drone, Laserbeak, approaching him.

"Soundwave, if you are listening, I have found Lord Megatron and he is… unwell. We must transport him to sickbay, immediately." Starscream said as he did his best to hide the Dark Energon fragment from Laserbeak's sight.

It would not do well for Soundwave to put two and two together.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

As they flew from above Jack could barely make out the shapes of Bumblebee and Optimus as well as the Con they were no doubt fighting. Jack couldn't tell who it was besides the Con having a large frame with a green paintjob. '_Large and green, which Decepticon do I know that's large and green?_' Suddenly Optimus's voice filled the cockpit as well as a bright green light.

"Agent Fowler, fall back!" Optimus said hastily, but it was already too late. '_Whoever it is, their scanning the plane for an alt mode. Okay, big, green and can fly. Scrap, that has to be Skyquake!_' The newly modified Skyquake flew up beside them for a second before he turned back to attack the Autobots.

"Hang on Jack, we're going in." Fowler called before he chased after Skyquake, bullets ready to be fired. Jack fidgeted in his seat, wanting to grab the controls in front of him to help take down Skyquake, but unless there was some sort of error in Fowler's side of the cockpit, Jack's controls were basically useless.

"Stealing plans for a classified military aircraft will not be tolerated on my watch." Fowler said and Jack watched as Skyquake purposefully stalled to get behind them. Jack saw them before the computer picked them up, missiles, six of them.

"Heat seekers." Fowler stated before he maneuvered the plane through the canyons of the desert they were in. As they approached a wall Fowler pulled up hard, making them shoot straight up and avoiding the missiles as they crashed into the wall.

"I still got it." Fowler said as he flew the jet farther away from Skyquake. "You okay back there Jack?" Fowler asked as he suddenly remembered the civilian in his cockpit.

"A little bit bored, but I'm good." Jack answered and he heard Fowler laugh thinking Jack was only joking. Jack turned his attention back to the battle and saw Bumblebee jump onto Skyquake's right wing. "Brave, but stupid Bee." Jack muttered to himself before addressing Fowler. "Fowler, I think Bumblebee needs an assist." Fowler spotted Bumblebee just as Optimus contacted him.

"Agent Fowler, we require immediate assistance." Fowler pulled up behind Skyquake as the Con started to plummet to the ground due to Bumblebee tearing out some of his wirings.

"Anytime fella, ground floor coming up awfully fast." Fowler muttered before Bee jumped onto the plane, making it stutter in the air slightly. Jack looked over at Bumblebee, who was crouched partially over him and gave the Autobot a thumbs up, which Bee returned.

"Happy landings Con." Fowler jeered towards a downed Skyquake. Jack knew Skyquake had not survived his crash. He could remember Skyquake a little, having only met the Mech a few times, but what he did remember was that he had not liked the warrior one little bit.

'_Too loyal to Megatron._' Jack could remember saying to Starscream once and he supposed that was a good enough reason to dislike the Mech.

"So Jack, want to see how fast I can get us back to base?" Fowler said as Bumblebee jumped off the plane, landing safely on the ground. "It's too bad none of the Autobots have a flier on the team, it would give me somebody to race." Fowler said as he pointed the plane in the direction the base was located at…

…"_**Alright Skywarp, you've fooled around with Starscream long enough, get back in air." Jack said, putting an end to the conversation the other two Seekers were having.**_

"_**Aw! C'mon T.C., it's late and I've been practicing all day, can't I call it quits?" Skywarp pleaded from beside a smirking Starscream. Seeing the smirk, Jack gave a slight nod to Starscream which the Seeker returned.**_

"_**Alright Skywarp, how about a race then? If you win we can go home, but if you lose you don't rest until you've got that corkscrew down, deal?" Jack said already transforming and raising up into the air.**_

"_**Fine, be prepared to eat my exhaust fumes T.C.!" Skywarp shouted back arrogantly before rising up next to Jack. Starscream moved to stand below them as he spoke.**_

"_**First one back here after reaching the outskirts of the training field wins! On three! One! Two! THREE!" Starscream shouted from down below and Jack shot off to the end of the field, not exactly leaving Skywarp in his dust, but there was a decent sized gap between them. **_

_**Before Jack knew it he was landing down next to Starscream, chuckling as he heard the curses Skywarp was muttering over their comlink. **_

"_**No fair T.C., you're supposed to let me win!" Skywarp moaned as he landed next to the other two Seekers. Jack could hear Starscream laughing at Skywarp's loss from behind him, but he didn't bother to stop the Seeker. Skywarp needed a lesson in humility anyways; the younger Seeker was far too spoiled for his own good. **_

"_**Why am I supposed to let you win?" Jack asked gruffly as he folded his arms over his chassis.**_

"_**Because I'm your little brother, and the older brother is always supposed to let his younger siblings win. It's one of the many unwritten laws of life T.C." Skywarp argued pitifully as his left pede scuffed the ground while frowning like a Sparkling.**_

_**Jack gave out a loud exaggerated sigh before he spoke. **_

"_**Fine Skywarp, you're done for the night okay? Go get some Energon or something." He grumbled as he turned away from a grinning Skywarp and a smirking Starscream. **_

"_**Hey, we should go out tonight, all three of us. I know this great bar…" Skywarp started to say before Jack blocked him out mentally. **_

_**He really was too soft when it came to his brother…**_

…Jack bit down hard on his tongue to keep from shouting. He remembered! Skywarp was his little brother. Primus, how could he forget Skywarp? The annoying little glitch that he was, what with his ridiculous pranks and obnoxious attitude that had made Jack want to strangle him most of the time.

Jack's joy suddenly turned to dread and felt his heartbeat race, not from adrenaline from the speeds he was traveling at, but from fear.

He had a brother, one that could very possible be dead now.

~Energon is Thicker then Blood~

"The troops will be pleased to hear of our success in rushing Lord Megatron into stasis. Let us hope that our Master pulls through." Starscream said grimly as he looked at a still functioning Megatron.

As if to taunt him the only thing that greeted his bitter lie were the steady beeps coming from the machine monitoring Megatron's still beating Spark.

~Energon is Thicker then Blood~

I've changed Jack's history up quite a bit especially regarding his Father. He also realizes that he's changing, but can't do anything about it. The Autobots, Raf, Miko, and Fowler don't know Jack well enough to see these changes and June is never home much to take any notice.

The Generals were 75% OC. General Bryce is a real character, but I made up Generals Cullen, Welker, and Kline. I bet some of you guys can guess who they got their names from. Jack getting that 500,000 dollar bribe to keep his mouth shut about the Autobots plays an important role that will be explained next episode.

I explained that Jack is continuing to have his visions so from now on I'm only going to show the really important ones. He'll find out his full name in the next chapter.

I gave Skywarp a similar build to Starscream, though his head is shaped differently. The only color difference is where Starscream is red while Skywarp is purple and where Screamer is blue, Warp is black.

Next chapter, the Scraplets invade the base and Jack solves his boredom problem.

~Hexalys~


	6. Scrapheap

I want to thank everyone who took the time to review!

Wow, damn, I'm really sorry I haven't posted this sooner. Honestly, I kind of forgot about this story. I haven't checked my emails in like three months, so your demands for more kind of went unnoticed. It wasn't until someone sent me a PM that I realized how horribly I've neglected this story and my fans. I promise to update this story more often.

I had originally planned to finish this chapter and post it last Thursday night, but my Grandma went to the hospital early Thursday morning. She had a really bad infection, so her nursing home is probably neglectful or just inept, either way my Mom is really pissed. I've been visiting my Grandma most of the time, seeing as I'm the only grandkid in the area, so that's why I didn't update this when I said I would. She's getting better, but is still in a lot of pain.

Anyways, here are the results from the polls after tallying your reviews; they'll both remain open until the next chapter:

Poll #1: Should I bring Gears to Earth or not?

1. Yes- 25

2. No- 11

Poll #2: Which Autobot should Jack tell his secret as being a former Decepticon to?

1. Optimus Prime- 16

2. Ratchet- 5

3. Optimus and Ratchet- 12

Is this… It is isn't it? Holy shit, it really is! It's a new chapter! Hurry up and read it already!

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Chapter 6: Scrapheap

Two weeks, it had been two weeks since Jack had gone flying with Fowler and the Autobots had taken down Skyquake. Two long merciless weeks filled with mind numbing boredom.

Jack tried to alleviate the monotony of his life; dullness had never been something T.C. had ever been forced to deal with. His only true release came with Arcee. Since Jack could not fly through the skies anymore, racing on top of the dirt roads of Jasper at 100 mph seemed like the next best thing. Arcee however, never pushed her engine past 80. She did have a cover to maintain.

So Jack tried, really he did. He tried to put up with school and his classmates. He tried to put up with Vince's heckling, though he could tell his restraint in holding his punches back wouldn't last much longer, and he tried to act like nothing was bothering him. Not an easy thing to do when one is constantly getting visions from their past life. So, yeah, he was trying.

That didn't mean it was working.

He was short tempered with every one of his classmates, they're chattering on about the newest fashions or the latest TV shows were constantly giving him a headache. The teachers droned on about things he already knew, scolding him when they saw he wasn't paying attention, and then staring at him in surprise as he answered their questions with ease. Thankfully no one at school really knew him all that well, so he only had to watch what he did and said around his Mom, who was working more often than not.

Sometimes, late at night, Jack would stop and think about himself and these changes that he was going through. He found that, while he'd definitely changed personality wise, he didn't _feel_ all that different. Or maybe it was just that he'd changed so much that he'd forgotten what he used to be like.

Jack sighed as he dragged his hands through his wet hair, Primus did he miss oil showers. Today there would be no boredom though, not with what he had planned for after school. Arcee and the others would be scouting for Energon today, so Jack had the entire evening to himself, one that he was going to take advantage of.

He had resigned from his job at K.O. Burger; if he'd continued working there, Jack was sure he would have killed someone. His Mom had no idea that he'd quit for two reasons. Firstly, he needed a plausible way to explain the money he received from the government. He'd already set up his secret account to transfer the same amount of money he'd made at K.O. into his normal account.

And secondly, he needed a cover story for where he would really be spending his free time. While Jack fully intended to spend most of his time at the Autobot base, he planned to also spend his hours getting rid of his boredom. A problem that could quite possibly be solved in just about nine hours. So with that pleasant thought in mind, Jack easily made it through the school day, able to ignore everything that bothered him and even managed a smile for Sierra.

Femme's, no matter what species, would always hold an interest for T.C. While Jack had certainly been uncertain and tongue-tied around the opposite gender, T.C. had never had a problem with communication. It was the commitment part that usually gave him troubles. Then, of course, there had been Slipstream…

Jack was brought out of his thoughts as the dismissal bell rang, reminding him slightly of the emergency drill sound that had rung throughout Kaon on the day that the Rebels Forces had launched one of their most devastating attacks.

A quarter of the city had been burned to the ground that day.

Jack quickly made his out of the classroom, ignoring the slight gesture the teacher made for him to stay behind, and headed for the school entrance. Out of reflex he looked for Arcee before reminding himself of their mission and walked off the school property before Miko and Raf found him. It wasn't like he didn't like the two kids, he simply had an appointment in the next town over that he refused to be late for.

An hour and a half later, Jack was getting off at a bus terminal located in Santa Maia, a city that had triple the population size of Jasper. While Santa Maia wasn't anything like New York or Las Vegas, it certainly dwarfed Jasper easily in comparison. Had Jack not lived on Cybertron, he might have been impressed by the city's large structures and crowded streets. Pausing only to hail down a taxi, Jack quickly gave the driver his intended destination.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Jack woke with a start, not because of a nightmare for once, but because of his cellphone. Shrugging off his sleep, Jack answered the phone after seeing who was calling.

"Raf, hey, what's up?" Jack asked his voice coming out scratchy and tired. He'd gotten to bed late last night after hiding his newly acquired item in an abandoned barn at the edge of Jasper. His Mom would no doubt freak if she saw what he'd bought and then demand to know where he got the money to buy it. That would of course lead to things she was better off not knowing.

He doubted Arcee and the other Autobots would be impressed with his decision either.

"Bumblebee got a call from Arcee to pick you up, so I just wanted to let you know that we'll be there in twenty minutes." Raf said and Jack could hear Bumblebee mutter something about cartoons in the background, which Raf reminded him that the show he was talking about only aired on the weekdays.

"Sounds good, I'll be waiting out front." Jack answered before saying goodbye. It had been a bit shocking when Jack suddenly understood what Bumblebee could say. Last week he'd gotten a vision consisting of him having a conversation with another Mech in basic Cybertronian, which is what Bumblebee spoke in. Bee had thought it was great, as had Raf, Ratchet had thought it was suspicious.

Jack had been especially cautious about what he did around the old Medic after that.

"Heh, cartoons…" Jack said fondly as he shook his head at Bumblebee's antics. Arcee had made a wisecrack about him watching cartoons with the yellow Autobot two weeks ago, before everything had gone to the Pit. Sure, his physical body was sixteen, but his mind and soul was at least a couple million years old. Bumblebee was a couple hundred thousand years old, but he seemed rather fond of them, and it was good to see the youngling enjoy himself. Jack felt his stomach plummet with that thought.

Bumblebee was much too young to be a soldier.

Pulling on his clothes and brushing his teeth, Jack mused over how old Skywarp must be by now. His little brother had been around the same age as Bumblebee when they'd joined the Decepticons, much to his protests. Jack hadn't wanted Skywarp to join the Cons, not until he was older at least, too bad the war had escalated to the point where he didn't really have a say in the matter. Sides were being drawn, attacks were launched randomly and if one didn't pick a side then they didn't last very long.

Bumblebee and Raf arrived at around eight and they reached the base a half an hour later. Jack got out of Bumblebee and waved a greeting towards Ratchet who responded with a small flick of the wrist.

"Wasn't expecting a carpool Arcee, what's up?" Jack asked as he moved over to the two-wheeler.

"Tag team Jack, it's my turn for exploration duty." Arcee answered and Optimus nodded from behind her.

"Too bad, it's a really nice day out. I'd hate for you to feel guilty about leaving me inside all day." Jack said with a smirk that Arcee returned.

"It's an artic exploration Jack." Arcee said as she rose and optic ridge and laid a servo on her hip. Jack raised his arms up in front of him in silent surrender and looked down as Raf ran up next to him.

"The artic, I've always wanted to see snow!" Raf said excitedly and Jack smirked as he crossed his arms and shared an amused look with Arcee.

"I would invite you to join Rafael, but the conditions are much too extreme, even for us Autobots." Optimus said as Arcee nodded her head.

…"**Why, in the name of Primus, are we here again?" Jack shouted towards Gears in order for his voice to be heard over the raging winds. They had arrived on this freezing planet to look for some weird relic that some Clerk at the Iacon Archives discovered, a Clerk who had gone along with them to see that the mission was a success. **

"**As I've said before, this relic could quite possibly be the lost tomes left by the Ancients. Such invaluable knowledge cannot be left unchecked if it is at all possible." The Clerk said as they pushed on into the raging snowstorm.**

"**Yeah, and if we don't find this relic soon, we'll be a bunch of relics that future bots will dig up eons from now!" Gears shouted back and the Clerk nodded in agreement. "I see a cave over there, well stop for the night and repair what icing damage we can." **

**Jack saw the cave that Gears was pointing to and headed in that direction, making sure to keep the Clerk within his sight the entire time. There had been few assignments Jack had taken where their client would accompany them on their mission, most of them just trying to make sure that the "brutish Procurers" didn't break anything. **

**Jack was pretty sure that was why this Clerk was here too. **

**As they shuffled into the cave, Jack immediately unpacked the provisions he and Gears had prepared for this particular job. Subzero system deterioration could easily lead to permanent system damages if not taken care of immediately.**

"**Hey Rookie, you got the destabilizing cables?" Gears asked as he rigged his core stabilizing generator into an Energon pack. **

"**Right here Short Fuse." Jack answered as he handed to cables over to Gears before turning back to his own generator. He shot a look at the Clerk, who at least had the foresight to bring his own generator and watched in amusement as the young Mech struggled to get the machine to work.**

"**Your generator has been exposed to this cold for too long; its inner fuel lines have been frozen over." Jack said as he approached the Clerk to see what the problem was. "While you were wise to bring a generator, you didn't bring one that was made to withstand such temperatures." Jack said as he shot the Clerk a searching look.**

"**I had asked my superior what model of generator I should use… he suggested this one." The Clerk said lowly as he stared down at the useless generator. **

"**Well, that just goes to show ya, a bot can never fully rely on the words of another." Gears said from his corner of the cave, his generator already on and humming. Jack rolled his optics and saw the Clerk smile a little in response.**

"**Come on, I've got a few extra cables you can use. We'll share my generator." Jack said as he motioned for the Clerk to follow him back towards his stabilizing unit. "What's your designation?" The Clerk gave him another small smile as thanks before answering.**

"**Orion Pax."… **

"I understand." Rafael said sadly as he looked down at the floor and Optimus turned to walk through the Ground Bridge before pausing to readdress the young human.

"But, I will bring you back a snowball." Optimus replied as he turned back to their youngest charge, smiling slightly at the joyous look Rafael gave him before running up to Bumblebee. Optimus shot a look to Jackson and noticed that the boy was seemingly staring out at nothing, his gaze unfocused but his posture rigid. "Jack, are you alright?"

He saw Jack visible shudder before looking around himself in a dazed manner. The young human shook his head lightly before turning to meet his optics and gave a small smile to the Autobot leader.

"I'm fine Optimus, I just spaced out for a second there." Jack answered easily as he rubbed his arms, almost as if he were trying to shake off the memory of some distant cold. "Have a safe journey." He said as he moved over towards the stairs.

"We shall. Arcee, roll out." Optimus ordered as he and the femme ventured into the icy tundra.

"Ground Bridge travel successful." Ratchet started to say before the Ground Bridge control panel sparked and then failed completely. "By the All-Spark."

"So, what you do you guys think we should do today?" Miko asked as Jack trailed behind her and Raf.

"**Racing tournament, last one standing wins!**" Bumblebee said and Raf translated for Miko's sake.

"Bulkhead, Bumblebee, here, now!" Ratchet shouted and Jack raised an eyebrow as he watched the two bots walk off dejectedly. Jack moved to follow the two Autobots when Miko suddenly waved a game controller in front of his face.

"No offense Miko, but video games aren't my thing." Jack said as he looked over at Raf who was frowning and staring down at his feet. "They are Raf's forte though, I think you'll find more of a challenge in him." He said as he gestured towards the sad looking boy. Miko's eyes lit up at Jack's words and turned towards the younger boy with eager.

"You can't boss us around just because the boss is out." Jack heard Bulkhead say from his spot near the couch.

"I need some heavy lifting, the Ground Bridge is down." Ratchet said, completely ignoring what the Wrecker said. Jack furrowed his eyebrows in worry, did that mean Arcee and Optimus were trapped in the artic?

"**Are they okay, Ratchet?**" Bumblebee asked worriedly.

"Optimus and Arcee made it through just fine; it's bringing them back that concerns me. Now remove those panels." Ratchet said as he pointed to the Ground Bridge's maintenance core. "Chop. Chop."

Jack had left the main room without attracting anyone's attention and found himself wandering down one of the halls aimlessly, once again succumbing to boredom. He was more than happy to let Raf and Miko play together, even if Raf was a little hesitant at first. He'd never been one to play games anyway, unless it involved gambling of course.

T.C. had often stood back to watch Starscream and Skywarp do their own thing, be that talking or playing the Seeker's version of tag.

What was more worrying though was the Ground Bridge's sudden malfunction.

Jack knew Ratchet was having trouble with Earth technology, but Jack had yet to see any inventions of Cybertronian origin fail so far. What's so surprising is that the Ground Bridge had apparently been working just fine yesterday. What could cause such massive damage in so short a time?

And then Jack spotted something that made his heart skip a beat.

A Scraplet.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Ratchet, we've got a serious problem." Jack said as he carried the Scraplet's mangled body away from himself as far as possible.

"We're busy right n- Ah! SCRAPLET!" Ratchet shouted as his arm shifted into a canon, Bulkhead and Bumblebee reacting in a similar way.

"A dead Scraplet guys, I found him in the hallway chewing on some power lines in the wall. I think it's safe to guess that we now know what caused the Ground Bridge to malfunction." Jack said as he dumped the Scraplet's shell on the floor, crushing its already heavily dented body under his foot.

He hated Scraplets.

"What's a Scraplet?" Raf asked as walked over to lay a comforting hand on Bumblebee's leg.

"The most dangerous vermin to ever crawl across the surface of Cybertron." Ratchet answered as he stared down at the small metal pest. "How did…" The Medic trailed of as he studied Jack intently, making the former Decepticon shift nervously.

He knew showing them the Scraplet would make Ratchet even more suspicious and he may have just blown his secret, but a Scraplet invasion was a dire situation. His secret wouldn't amount to scrap if the Autobots on base were devoured and if Optimus and Arcee froze to death.

"You guys are giant robots! Scrappy here is, well teeny." Miko said cutting off whatever Ratchet was going to say next. Jack mentally thanked the brash young girl for not being able to keep her mouth shut for once.

"You have no idea the damage that teeny thing can do!" Bulkhead shouted hysterically as he waved his still humming canon at the Scraplet's corpse. "All Scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal, especially _living_ metal."

"Well, Jack went all exterminator on it so no problem, right?" Miko asked as she poked at the Scraplet's body.

"No, when it comes to Scraplets there's never just one, and I fear I know how they got in here." They followed Ratchet down into the empty car bay and found the metal ball that Scraplets had eaten their way out of. "It's a trap, a Scraplet trap."

"Uh, an empty Scraplet trap." Bulkhead said nervously as he shifted his head to look around them. Bumblebee stood at the ready, his gun out and itching to be fired. Jack found himself also looking over his shoulder anxiously. While the Scraplets weren't a threat to him now, his memories reminded him of just how horrifying the little metal menaces could be.

"It must have been ejected from Cybertron eons ago, only to wind up in the artic where the subzero temperature kept them in stasis." Ratchet concluded as he looked deeper into the Scraplet trap. '_Who'd thought it had been a good idea to seal them into a metal prison anyways?_' The medic thought as he studied the bite marks puncturing from the trap.

"Until we brought the thaw." Jack finished as he narrowed his eyes at the empty cage.

"And now they're ready to brunch." Miko said as she swung the wrench she'd somehow managed to find.

"So, how many are we talking about?" Raf asked and Jack barely held back a shudder. Far too many.

"Thousands. Power grid failures and Ground Bridge malfunctions are sure signs that their infestation is already well underway." Ratchet said as he shook his head.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Base to Optimus, do you read me? We have a situation. Scrap." Ratchet cursed as all he got was static in response. "The Scraplets have gotten into the comlink system." He said in frustration as he slammed his fist onto the computer's control panel. "If we don't eradicate these Scraplets immediately, they will reduce the entire base into a scrapheap."

"Well I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead shouted back and Bumblebee nodded in agreement.

"Evacuation is not an option, if we don't get the Ground Bridge back online stat, Optimus and Arcee will perish." Ratchet said and Jack felt his insides clench at the medic's painfully honest words.

"Then we'd better do something, and fast." Jack growled as he griped the metal railing until his knuckles turned white.

"Bulkhead, you never run away from a fight." Miko said and the Wrecker shuddered slightly in response.

"Miko, you've never seen these things devour a bot, I have. They pick you apart from the inside out. Going for the small juicy bits first, fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, until there's nothing left and _I mean nothing!_ Not even your optics…" Bulkhead trailed off, his words giving Jack memory after memory, each showing him his comrades, friends, and enemies being consumed by the horrible Pit-spawned monsters.

…"_**Skywarp, pay attention! This area is the last place Ramjet and his squadron was reported to have been before going offline. I'd rather we not end up the same way simply because you're bored." Jack growled toward his younger brother and he tensed as he felt something brush against his left wing.**_

"_**Sorry, that was me." Starscream said nervously as he turned towards Jack and ignored Skywarp's snickering.**_

"_**What's the matter with you two? Primus, you're acting like fragging Sparklings." Skywarp taunted as he plowed on ahead, his gun not even out.**_

"_**Skywarp, there are far more worrying things than Autobots." Starscream growled as he pointed his guns to his left, his optics searching for whatever made that noise that only he seemed to have heard.**_

"_**Oh yeah, like what?" Skywarp asked mockingly and Starscream growled in response.**_

"_**Enough, both of you! Skywarp, this is your first Decepticon mission, take it seriously. Starscream… calm down, I honestly think there is anything in this area anymore." Jack said to the two other Seekers and each snorted derisively for two different reasons.**_

"_**You think? Hah, oh yes, that makes me feel so much better." Starscream said a little hysterically as he moved closer to Jack.**_

"_**Primus, Screamer, would you stop being such a-" Skywarp suddenly cut himself off as Starscream shouted a warning before he opened fire on whatever it was that had suddenly been heading towards Skywarp.**_

_**Jack felt his Spark freeze as he saw the massive wave of silver crash into Skywarp, knocking his little brother into the ground as he screamed for help. Jack charged forward as he saw those razor sharp teeth dig into Skywarp's black armor, as Energon began to spill onto the ground.**_

"_**THUNDERCRACKER!"…**_

"-not made of metal." Jack heard Raf say, disrupting his vision of seeing Skywarp being torn apart. '_Please Primus; tell me Skywarp didn't die then, not like that._' Jack silently prayed. On a side note he finally learned what his name was.

"Typically, I find your fleshyness to be your least engaging quality, but it does seem to provide an advantage in this situation." Jack heard Ratchet say and he forced him to pay attention.

"Good, we'll pair off then, one bot to one human. I'll watch your back while you prepare the Ground Bridge." Jack said to Ratchet and turned to the others. "You guys focus on the Scraplets. Clear as many as you can, but avoid any large groups, if it gets too bad meet up back here." He ordered and saw Bulkhead and Bumblebee shake in fear.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Once the others had left Jack had searched the room for a weapon, deciding to grab the fire extinguisher as extreme cold had locked the Scraplets into stasis before. It was silent for a few moments until Jack heard the sound of Bulkhead's blaster going off from somewhere deeper in the base.

"How's it going over there, Ratchet?" Jack called as he searched the room with narrowed eyes. He heard Ratchet sigh in response before answering.

"I've repaired the damaged conductors and rerouted the central conduits, but the Ground Bridge still won't receive power." Ratchet growled as he slammed his fist into the floor angrily. He needed to fix the Ground Bridge soon, Optimus's and Arcee's lives depended on it, on him.

"Maybe the damage they did is affecting the Ground Bridge from somewhere else?" Jack suggested uncertainly. After all, what did he know about Ground Bridge's? Ratchet seemed to share that same thought because he only scoffed in response. It was silent for a minute before Ratchet sighed and turned to look at Jack.

"Jack, how did you know that the Scraplet was a danger?" Ratchet asked as he narrowed his optics at the human. The question had been bothering him ever since he saw the boy bring in that Scraplet's corpse.

"Arcee told me about them last week." The human boy replied easily enough and Ratchet really had no reason to doubt his word. It was just… little things kept piling up around Jack that made little sense. How had the human known what he did about the differences between the Space and Ground Bridges? How could he suddenly understand Bumblebee?

"And will Arcee tell me the same thing if I ask her?" Ratchet asked shrewdly and he saw the human's shoulders tense up before slumping downwards, a heavy sigh escaping the young boy's lips.

Jack was caught and he knew it, Arcee wouldn't cover for him about this and even if she did, he'd have to explain to her how he really knew about Scraplets and that was a conversation Jack didn't think he'd ever be ready to have. Ratchet wouldn't let this drop either; he could tell just by the way that the bot was glaring at him.

Jack sighed before turning to the old Autobot, deciding set the truth free, as it were.

"Alright Ratchet, you got me. I am in fact a Decepticon who died thousands of years ago in a climactic battle against the Autobots. Somehow I was reborn and I've been getting memories of my past life since I was brought to Starscream on the Nemesis." Jack said evenly as he stared seriously at Ratchet who'd raised his optic ridges in response. It was dead silent for a minute before Ratchet snorted in amusement.

"Ha-ha, a Decepticon human! Jack, that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Ratchet said with a chuckle before turning back to the Ground Bridge.

Jack stared at Ratchet in astonishment. The Medic hadn't believed him. This was perfect, this was exactly what he wanted, and yet… Jack had been so ready to have someone else know his secret. He'd been so ready to act like himself again while around at least one person, where he didn't have to watch what he said, where he could get answers about Skywarp.

Jack was about to open his mouth, whether to convince Ratchet or not, he didn't know, but the sudden sound of whirling metal quickly grabbed his attention and Jack turned back to see a horde of Scraplets flying towards them.

"Ratchet, get down!" Jack shouted as he took aim at the approaching horde of Scraplets. Just as Jack had assumed, the cold nitro cloud from the fire extinguisher sent the Scraplets crashing into the ground. The Scraplets at the back of the group broke off and moved to attack Ratchet and Jack rushed after them, knocking some of the Scraplets out of the air as he swung the fire extinguisher at them.

"Ratchet, get the patch kit, we're leaking Energon here!" Bulkhead shouted and Ratchet turned to the others, his body only covered with some minor mesh wounds. He took in the damage done to Bulkhead and Bumblebee and was about to order them to lie down when Bulkhead suddenly shouted, pointing towards Jack's direction.

A second wave of Scraplets had arrived and they'd obviously deduced that Jack was a threat. They were swarmed all over him, completely blocking the human from view and he could hear strangled shouts escape the massive mound of Scraplets.

"Jack!" Ratchet shouted, not knowing what else to do. His yell seemed to attract some of the Scraplets' attention because a large part of the horde left Jack and charged towards them. The Autobots brought out their blasters taking aim at the tiny bot eaters, but it simply wasn't enough. As the bots began to collapse Miko and Raf did their best to knock off the Scraplets, but it did little good.

Ratchet felt panic begin to set in as the Scraplets continued to dig deeper into his armor. Was this how it was going to end, the Autobots not felled by the Decepticons, but by Scraplets? He jerked slightly at the cloud of coldness that suddenly rose around him, before letting out a sigh of relief. Jack must be using the fire extinguisher again. He turned from his spot on the floor and saw that the human was covered in cuts and scrapes, his life blood clearly visible on his marred body.

"Jack-" He started to say but grunted instead as he felt his right arm throb painfully.

"Easy Ratchet, you've got more than just a couple of mesh wounds. Raf, Miko make sure you smash every single Scraplet you see." Jack said as he moved over to knock a couple of Scraplets who were still attached to Bumblebee's chassis.

"Did we get them?" Miko asked after some time and Ratchet heard Jack scoff. As if to agree with the young boy, the sound of whirling metal echoed throughout the base and Ratchet closed his optics in hopelessness.

"Hardly, these were just scouts." He answered drily as he watched Jack crush another Scraplet under his foot.

"So, the rest of them know we're in here?" Bulkhead asked fearfully.

"If we allow ourselves to become their next meal, Optimus and Arcee will never make it home. We must get the Ground Bridge operational." Ratchet decided to say instead, sparing Bulkhead the knowledge that it was most likely that the Scraplets were already on their way.

"Then we could use the Ground Bridge to send the Scraplets anywhere in the world." Raf said excitedly as he looked over the crushed piles of metal remains.

"So we send them back to the artic, we already know they don't do cold." Jack said as he hefted the fire extinguisher over his shoulder. He didn't bother to tell the bots that the metal canister was going to be empty pretty soon.

"Sweet, one stop shopping." Miko said as she raised the wrench she'd been using.

"Given the body mass of the Scraplets, subzero temperature should freeze them on contact. So think Ratchet, _think!_ If the Ground Bridge is still down… there must be a breech in the Energon fuel line!" Ratchet shouted as he sent a pleased look to Jack who smiled in response.

"If we weren't breeching, one of us could go back over there and fix it." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee tried to get off the floor and failed, proving the Wreckers statement to be correct.

"Where do we find it?" Jack asked and the Autobots turned their heads towards him, Miko, and Raf.

"And how do we fix it?" Raf asked.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Perhaps you should have accompanied Rafael and Miko in repairing the leak Jack." Ratchet said as he watched the boy stand guard in front of him and the others.

"And leave you three to deal with the Scraplets on your own, when you can barely stand?" Jack asked back skeptically as he raised an eyebrow at the old bot. "Raf and Miko can handle the leak, the Scraplets should leave them alone… if they don't sense any hostile intent that is." Jack said as he lightly brushed a hand over the cut in his side. It was shallow, as were most of his cuts, that didn't mean they didn't sting though.

"Jack, I-I'm sorry about…" Ratchet trailed off as he looked away from the boy, unable to meet his gaze. He'd never been very good when it came to apologies. They were supposed to be the ones protecting the humans, not the other way around. This was the second time that Jack had bled for them.

"It's fine Ratchet, things happen." Jack said gruffly as he looked in the other direction, also avoiding the Mech's gaze. Thundercracker had never been too good with these sort of situations either.

"So if we get –when we get the Ground Bridge open, do we send the creepy crawlies out, or bring our bots in?" Bulkhead asked interrupting whatever it was that was going on between Ratchet and Jack. Weird.

"Optimus and Arcee will be fresh meat, if we bring them in first the Scraplets will have no reason to leave. We'll need bait." Ratchet said tiredly, his optics shuddering slightly in response.

"Where are we going to get bait? The Scraplets already helped themselves to everything in here." Bulkhead growled angrily and Jack was about to interrupt when a massive swarm of Scraplets flew out of the vents and circled the bots overhead. Jack raced to second deck that hung over the bots and readied the fire extinguisher to be used as soon as any Scraplets got close enough.

"Ratchet all systems go, fire it up!" Miko shouted as she and Raf charged into the room. Jack shot at a group of Scraplets that made to charge at Ratchet as he activated the Ground Bridge and watched worriedly as the Medic crashed into the floor.

"Bait, huh?" Bulkhead muttered to himself as he slowly got up, Jack moving along with the Wrecker and shooting down any Scraplet that got to close. "Ready for the main course? Come and get it!" Bulkhead shouted towards the Scraplets as he waved his arms to get their attention. Jack stood next to the large Autobot, knowing what he was up to and ready to lend any help he could.

The Scraplets spotted Bulkhead and charged, the Wrecker stumbled through the Ground Bridge and Jack followed, shooting at the Scraplets that managed to latch onto the green Autotbot. Jack spotted Optimus and Arcee as the exited the portal and shouted for them to get down along with Bulkhead. Jack dove into the snow, his body painfully clenching up at the frigid weather, and turned to look up at Optimus and Arcee after seeing the Scraplets freeze over.

"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess." Bulkhead said. Somehow, Jack still managed to scoff through his chattering teeth.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

"Report Bio-circuitry status, Jack." Ratchet ordered and Jack didn't hesitate to respond.

"Levels are raising and stabilizing Ratchet." Jack said as he looked up briefly from the data screen towards the Medic bot.

"Excellent. Rafael, keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electric pulse monitor. Miko, check Bulkhead's interface patch." The old Autobot said, as his optics lingered on Jack for a few more moments.

"It's steady." Raf said while Miko responded with a bright "Looking good." Ratchet nodded his head and turned to Optimus as the Autobot leader addressed him.

"Perhaps you should get some rest yourself, old friend. You saved quite a few lives today." Optimus said as he smiled at the other Autobot. Ratchet smirked in response before turning to look at the human children. "It… wasn't all my doing. We're just fortunate that this infestation happened, on a Saturday." The Medic said with a huff as he shared a grim look with Optimus.

"Our human friends may be small, but they are strong." Optimus said as he proudly looked onto the humans, his optics focusing in on Jack as he saw the boy looked much like he did earlier, his eyes unfocused and body rigid.

…"**Thundercracker?" Jack heard Starscream ask distantly and he slowly opened his optics, ignoring the stasis command his system was sending. "Thundercracker, are you awake?" Jack grunted and he heard the Seeker sigh in relief.**

"**What happened?" Jack asked as his optics finally onlined and found Starscream who was covered in mesh wounds, but nothing looked too serious. "Where's Skywarp?" He asked after seeing his little brother nowhere in sight.**

"**We were attacked by a small horde of Scraplets when scouting for Ramjet's squadron. They had attacked Skywarp first and then you-" Starscream cut himself off as a visible shudder raced through his silver frame. "You charged the Scraplets and the swarmed all over. I thought…" Starscream shuttered his optics and Jack reached out to grab the Seeker's servo. "Skywarp is fine, but it was touch and go with you for a while. Knock Out barely managed to save your Spark."**

"**Well then, I guess I owe Knock Out some High-grade Energon." Jack said lowly earning a chuckle from the obviously distraught Seeker. "So, where's Skywarp?" Jack asked again and was surprised by the sudden change in Starscream's personality.**

"**I don't know and I didn't bother to find out! That fragged up aft-head can go rust in the Pit for all I care." Starscream growled and Jack barely held back an amused snort.**

"**Angry at him are we?" Jack asked lightly and almost chuckled as Starscream went into a tirade about Skywarp, spouting out all of the younger Mech's faults and irritating quirks before running out of stream. It was silent for a few moments before Jack spoke again. "So, where is he?" He asked knowingly and Starscream sighed tiredly as he ran a servo over his optics before answering.**

"**In his quarters getting over-energized, the same thing he usually does when he's done something stupid that he feels guilty about." Jack smirked at the tired Seeker. Starscream may get angry and say things he doesn't mean sometimes, but he always looked after Skywarp. **

"**Please don't do something as stupid as that again, Thundercracker. I don't know what Skywarp and I would do if we lost you." Starscream said in but a whisper and Jack felt his Spark break slightly at those desperate, but open words.**

"**I promise to try bro-."…**

Miko's sudden scream tore Jack out of his vision and he acted on instinct, grabbing the wrench that Miko had been holding before and readying himself for an attack.

"What is it?" Raf asked as he moved to stand next to Jack.

"Scraplets?" Jack asked urgently, his blue-grey eyes searching the room.

"Spider! Is it on me?" Miko screamed as she ran away from the others, flinging her arms every which way to get rid of the spider. Jack sighed angrily as he dropped the wrench onto the floor and turned back to the computers.

Why did he get the feeling like he just missed something very important concerning his vision?

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

A 2009 Dark Blue Corvette z06 pulled up behind the other cars, its dark colored paint job lost on the crowed due to how little light there was at this time of night. Those that looked closely however, would see a dark silver design on the left side of the car, just a little in front of the driver's door. The design looked like a face and was obviously an original as no one on Earth, except for a few, would be able to recognize it.

It was the Autobot symbol.

No one could see the driver due to the cars tinted windows, but seeing as he was new, no one really cared. Jack Darby, the owner of the corvette, smiled to himself as the other cars pulled into position. He'd changed his clothes a little, adding a dark gray leather jacket to his ensemble that had a blue Autobot insignia on the back that matched his car in color.

He also wore a helmet, not the one he wore with Arcee, but a different one. It was black but was covered in a bright neon painting that was close to the color of Energon. The blue lines twisted over each other, looking more like a skull with veins, reminding the young man of the helmet design he'd had as Thundercracker.

A pretty femme moved to stand in front of the girls, her short skirt flaring a little in the late nights' breeze. Jack smirked as she winked in his direction. As the girl threw her hands downward the blue corvette raced off with the other cars, leaving most in his wake.

Jack whooped and hollered as he barreled down the road, leaving behind his doubts and everything else that had to do with his day life, because right now he was T.C. and no one else.

~Energon is Thicker than Blood~

Okay, wow, was that a huge ass chapter or what? Over seven thousand words! I think that's my longest chapter for ETB yet! Alright, so we covered a lot of shit in this chapter so let's break it down.

The whole Jack competing in illegal racing thing is actually going to open up into a lot more shit. They'll be some Knock Out interaction pretty soon and Jack is also gonna do some other stuff you might not expect. His racing persona is now sort of like his secret identity and he'll take the name T.C. when in front of others.

I like that little vision Jack had of Orion Pax, it wasn't meant to be much, just a "Huh, so Thundercracker met Orion before everything went to shit, Cool!" sort of segment. If you guys want me to expand on that particular vision let me know and I'll put it in the next chapter.

So Jack told Ratchet who he was, but wasn't believed. That part was mainly there to psych you guys out. If Option #3 gets picked for the poles than Jack will have something to build off of in the next chapter when he comes clean about who he is to Optimus and Ratchet. If not, then I got to do a fun little ditty that Ratchet will remember in the future and be like "Holy slag, Jack was telling me the truth!"

Anyways, please leave a review to tell me how I did!

~Hexalys~


End file.
